Portrait of Edgar Degas
Original title: Portrait of Edgar Degas
kurzbeschreibung
A bearded man in profile, wearing a shirt with a long collar — that is how Marcellin Desboutin presents his fellow painter Edgar Degas. This 1876 drypoint on paper captures the artist with a thick full beard and loose, flowing hair.
Description
A man's head appears in profile, framed by a lush mane and a full beard. He wears a plain shirt with a long, narrow collar. The strands of hair are rendered with great care in flowing sweeps, giving the portrait a lively quality. The background stays sparse and almost empty, so the face stands out strongly. Side light models the contours of his features and hair. The approach is realistic, yet the loose linework hints at impressionist tendencies.
Context
Desboutin made this portrait in 1876, when he and Degas moved in Parisian artistic circles. He himself was a painter, printmaker, and author, and often portrayed colleagues. The work falls in an early phase of the impressionist movement, which also brought fresh impulses to printmaking. The small size of the plate suggests a private, personal study.
Impact
The delicate, curved lines and the side lighting give the head an immediate, almost sketch-like presence. Because the surroundings remain so bare, the eye focuses entirely on Degas's distinctive features, which underlines his charisma.
Technique
For this sheet, the drypoint technique was used: the drawing is scratched directly into the copper plate with a needle. The burrs thrown up by this process give the print soft, velvety lines. The paper measures 43.8 × 34.8 cm, while the plate is only 8.8 × 7.1 cm, which explains the wide margin.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)