Jack the Ripper was an infamous serial killer from the slums of Whitechapel District of London. Jack the Ripper primarily targeted sex workers, brutalizing women in the early hours of the morning leaving his victims to be found in alleys and other street corners. Between the months of August and November of 1888, it´s assumed Jack the Ripper took a total of 5 female lives. What adds to the infamy of these murders is the lack of identity behind the killer. The case of who Jack the Ripper could have been has remained a mystery for 135 years. While many theories of who he could have been, there´s never been enough solid evidence to point the murders to someone.
Amongst these theories are one of my personal favorites, Edgar Degas possibly being behind the Jack the Ripper murders. Around the time of Jack the Ripper’s murders, Edgar Degas resided in Paris, just a short trip away from Whitechapel District. This is substantial evidence because of a friend of Degas. James McNeill Whistler would often lunch with Edgar Degas, lining the times up, we could assume Edgar would commit his murder early in the morning (around 1-4am) and then take a train back into the city in time for lunch with James. Edgar also would take small week trips to London, which also aligned with the timeframe of two murders. Edgar Degas was a wealthy man, with many connections, during the span of the murders he would often send letters to ¨friends¨ of his. I say friends in quotes due to his lack of previous communication with these people. This also would give Edgar an albi if ever questioned by police.
Another factor building a case against Degas was his deep hatred towards women. Victims of Jack the Ripper would often be found mutilated in gruesome manners. It would align with the brutalization of the victims. One of the notorious features of these murders would be expertise in removing organs and surgically sewing the victims. Unlike other murderers, the removed organs were well done, as if the murderer had a medical or anatomical understanding of the body. Degas was a classically trained artist, specifically a painter. Meaning Edgar Degas would have been present at multiple human dissections as part of his training, giving Edgar a good understanding of where certain organs would be located. Jack the Ripper almost never left clues for police to find. One of his only clues was found alongside the bodies of Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes, both murdered September 30th of 1888. Scrawled on the brick wall above the women’s bodies said, ¨The Juwes are men that will not be blamed for nothing.¨ (Confirmed by Jacktheripper.org) It´s thought alongside Jack the Ripper targeting women of the night, he also had a strong distaste for Jewish people. What’s interesting about this clue and the connection to Degas is the clue was written in chalk. Degas often worked with chalk and it was said he often would carry chalk on his person. Edgar Degas was also a notorious antisemite, further connecting him.
As previously mentioned Edgar Degas was a painter. He is famously known for his repeated paintings of female ballerinas. This on its own doesn’t seem very important, but the details are what really what matter in a case such as this. Degas often painted ballerinas that were portrayed as prostitutes, the same women Jack the Ripper specifically targeted. Degas´ paintings also were regularly dark and dreary, picturing these women without faces or close ups of just their bodies. Occasionally pieces of Edgar Degas´ would have men in the background assumably arranging ´favors´ with these women. Now of course most of this evidence could be pure coincidence. But in my opinion there is such a thing as too many coincidences. One of the most haunting details of this theory is Edgar Degas´ ballerina paintings are often hung in little girls bedrooms. I´d like to end this article with a quote from TikToker Kiki Schirr who made a TikTok dedicated to this theory(@schirrgenius on TikTok), ¨The pretty paintings of ballerinas that hang in little girls´ rooms to this day, were they painted by a murder?¨.
