65- Edgar Degas, Waiting, ca. 1879-80 or 1876-77, monotype, Musee Picasso, Paris. thumb in her mouth in such a way.154 This in turn reminds us of the extraordinary degree to which Degas's trademark - the isolation and precision of the typical professional gesture - is a multilayered allusive device rather than a univocal, anecdotal means of representation and reportage. Thus, although Degas's picture is reserved, elliptical, and noncommital compared to the average, anecdotal boulevard cartoon (like fig. 52, for example), his use of gesture forcefully 109