The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Self-Portrait

Self-Portrait

1857
(French, 1834–1917)
Platemark: 23 x 14.5 cm (9 1/16 x 5 11/16 in.); Sheet: 31.5 x 22.6 cm (12 3/8 x 8 7/8 in.)
Catalogue raisonné: Reed and Shapiro 8
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

This early self-portrait is especially rare among Edgar Degas's prints, and few impressions are known to exist.

Description

In the 1850s Degas frequently used himself as a model, but he made only one printed self-portrait. Through successive stages of biting the plate and layers of crosshatching, Degas gradually built areas of dark tone. In this impression, Degas added etched lines on the face, hat, and coat and carefully wiped his copper plate to create atmospheric effects. His clearly drawn eyes directly engage the viewer, resulting in a psychologically powerful and intense portrait of the young artist at age 23. This impression was dedicated to his friend, the painter and sculptor Paul Albert Bartholomé.
  • Paul-Albert Bartholomé
    ?-?
    (Cesar M. de Hauke)
    ?-?
    Kimbell Art Foundation, Fort Worth, TX
    1987
    (sale, Sotheby's, New York, May 13, 1987, sold to Robert Light)
    after 1987-by 2004
    (Samuel Josefowitz, Lausanne, Switzerland, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH)
    2004-
    Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 354
    Lees, Sarah, and Richard R. Brettell. Innovative Impressions: Prints by Cassatt, Degas, and Pissarro. Tulsa, Oklahoma : Philbrook Museum of Art, 2018 Reproduced and mentioned: p. 23, fig. 18
  • Innovative Impressions: Cassatt, Degas, and Pissarro as Painter-Printmakers. Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, OK (organizer) (June 9-September 9, 2018).
    Treasures on Paper from the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 9-June 8, 2014).
    L'Impressionnisme vu d'Amérique. Musée Fabre, Montpellier, France (organizer) (June 9-September 9, 2007); Musée de Grenoble, Grenoble, France (October 6, 2007-January 20, 2008).
  • {{cite web|title=Self-Portrait|url=false|author=Edgar Degas|year=1857|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2004.87