Weird History: Was Edgar Degas Actually Jack The Ripper?

TikToker and artist Kiki Schirr has gone viral for her theory about the famous painter Edgar Degas, suggesting that the artist was the notorious Whitechapel Murderer. Read on to learn about her theories. And afterward go watch her TikTok series where she explains everything in depth.

10. Many of His Ballet Paintings Have One Peculiar Detail

Kiki Schirr points out that in almost all of Edgar Degas’ ballerina paintings, the dancers have striking black ribbons tied around their necks. In most of his paintings, the colors almost blur together and there are no harsh lines. But the ribbons are very harsh and they draw the eye. Jack the Ripper slit the throats of his victims, so Degas’ preoccupation with the neck is suspicious.

9. He May Not Have Actually Been In France At the Time of the Murders

Between August 24th and September 15th 1888, the bodies of Mary Ann Nichols and Annie Chapman were discovered. At this time, Degas was supposedly in the south of France. That should be his alibi, right? Well, he was traveling alone and no one he knew actually saw him in the south of France as far as we know. So, it’s possible he traveled to a different location. London, England perhaps?

8. He Wrote More Letters Than Usual During the Time of the Murders

Degas was not a prolific letter writer. In 7 years, he only wrote 24 letters. As it turns out, misanthropes don’t like to communicate with people. Go figure. But during the three weeks he was in “the south of France,” he sent five letters back home to Paris. Some of the letters were sent to columnists who he knew would quote him. Could he have been setting up an alibi?

7. His Paintings Have A Predatory Undertone

If you look in the background of many of the ballerina paintings, you see shadowy male figures waiting in the wings. Ballerinas often had to sell their company to others to fund their art, and men would wait for them after the shows. Degas, being the misanthropic misogynist that he was, resented the girls for this. A resentment he may have carried with him all the way to London.

6. Disturbing Surprises Were Found In His Wax Sculptures

Degas was not only a painter, but a sculptor as well. But he didn’t work with clay like other artists. He worked with wax. It should be noted that wax was often used to preserve body parts. After his death, some of his wax sculptures were x-rayed. Inside they found substances that have only been labeled as organic matter. 

5. A Genetic Illness May Have Made Him Murderous 

In her videos, Schirr explains that professionals have stated that psychopaths have a dead spot behind their eyes that show up in brain scans. Degas suffered from an eye disease that may have caused the same dead spot.

4. An Anatomical Fascination And A Shaky Hand

The cuts made to the victims’ bodies were deliberate. So deliberate that it has been argued that Jack the Ripper could’ve been a surgeon. This has been largely refuted because when analyzing the cuts, police determined that they were made by a hand too shaky to belong to a surgeon. The Ripper was obviously well acquainted with anatomy like a doctor would be. But artists studied anatomy too when learning to draw and sculpt the human form.

3. He Was An Anti-Semite

After the bodies of Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes were discovered, the police also found graffiti scribbled on the wall near the scene. The graffiti was an anti-Semitic statement written in chalk. Degas was a militant anti-Semite. And as a painter who worked with pastels, he would have carried chalk with him.

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2. His Unique Spelling And Handwriting

The spelling in the Goulston street graffito had poor grammar and unusual spellings for words. English was not Degas’ first language and Schirr argues that the graffiti was his attempt at English. The officers on the scene erased the graffiti but not before copying it down. The officer tried to mimic the handwriting exactly. There are some similarities between the graffiti and Degas’ handwriting, particularly the “B’s.”

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1. He Was A Misogynist 

Edgar Degas was an unrepentant misogynist. He openly despised women. If Schirr’s theory about the impact his eye disease had on his brain, then it stands to reason that he would take his rage and frustration out on women. Especially women who he saw as lower class.

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