[Portrait of Louise Halévy by Lamplight. (Portrait de Louise Halévy à la lueur de la lampe)]

One of Edgar Degas's most daring experiments in photography was to enlarge his negatives at a time when techniques for doing so first became reliable. To achieve the enlarging, he utilized the services of Tasset et Lhote, an artists' supply shop that was one of the first to also supply photographic services. From Guillaume Tasset, Degas obtained photographic supplies and sought advice about procedures, and from Tasset's daughter Delphine, who operated the photo studio, he ordered enlargements. This image of his childhood friend Louise Halévy reading, printed by Delphine Tasset, is an example of Degas's experiments with enlarging.