Degas: The Next Suspect?

[Sarah D]

It's just in theory but I was wondering if anyone said anything about Edgar Degas as being a suspect as JTR. You know, since it's great to point the finger as famous people during the time and also he was the influence on Sickert.

Also, thinking about it, he was likely to travel and possibly know Mary Jane Kelly (she being from France).

In Degas's history, he was seen as anti-Semitic (if we can take the wall writing to mention "jews" but spelled as "juwes".)

Just one thing I don't know, did he ever visit England, let alone Whitechapel?

[John Bennett]

Nooooooooo! Stop!

[Sarah D]

LOL! Just in theory (I wanted to be like Cornwell! LOL!)

[John Bennett]

Phew, that was close!

[Suzi]

better not bring up my newly discovered photograph of Richard 'Mad' Dadd then................. Mercifully can't post it!!!

[Chris Scott]

Hi Sarah
I would have thought a better bet was Van Gogh
The latter part of 1888 was a period of great mental turmoil for him and I believe his ear cutting incident took place not long after the Kelly murder
Of course the fact that he was in the south of France at the time of the murders should be no obstacle to a nice new theory
Chris

Van Gogh felt an increasing fear that Gauguin was going to desert him, and what he described as a situation of "excessive tension" reached a crisis point on 23 December 1888, when Van Gogh stalked Gauguin with a razor and then cut off the lower part of his own left ear lobe, which he wrapped in newspaper and gave to a prostitute named Rachel in the local brothel, asking her to "keep this object carefully."

[Suzi]

AH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that explains the EAR and eyes comment then!! Sorted!!!

[Sam Flynn]

Degas might have been just the right type to get away with it. Judging by his hindsightedly iffy endorsement of Hutch, and his later ideas about Kłosowski, it seems Abberline might have been somewhat "impressionable" on occasion.

[Ben]

Absolutely, Gareth.

It also struck me that Degas-as-JTR might just strike a chord with our old mate "Pilgrim", bless 'im.

[Pippin Joan]

Nooooooooo! Stop!

Agreed! But then I saw this picture and just wondered about Mary Jane Kelly. BTW, Kelly didn't come from France. She claimed she had been there with a gentleman client, and affected the name Marie Jeannette, which has been so stupidly put on her gravestone. In my opinion, she may have very well gone there with some man, but she embroidered the story all out of proportion. Toulouse-Lautrec might have been more in character, but I don't think he could have reached up and throttled them easily. He'd be noticed.

[The Grave Maurice]

Say, is there any chance that Claude Monet went to London a dozen or so years early in order to scout out views of the Thames? I tell ya, I smell a book in all this.

[Suzi]

Ah!! could that be a chemise I spot there?......... Two!!! One on the floor and one on 'er the girlie! TWO chemises (chemii?) now that'll get the chemise fanciers going!!

In fact that looks like a whole case load of chemii.......

Suz x