The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 20, 2024

Ludovic Lepic Holding His Dog

Ludovic Lepic Holding His Dog

1889
(French, 1834–1917)
France, 19th century
pastel
Sheet: 49.8 x 32.1 cm (19 5/8 x 12 5/8 in.); Secondary Support: 50.6 x 38 cm (19 15/16 x 14 15/16 in.)
Gift of the Mildred Andrews Fund 1988.93
Catalogue raisonné: Lemoisne 950
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Scholars have suggested that the unusual tonality of this drawing is due to the fact that it was executed in artificial rather than natural light.

Description

Degas executed this portrait of his friend, the artist Ludovic Lepic, with rapid and expressive strokes of powdery pastel. The two artists worked together closely in printmaking early on, and this work is one of several commemorative depictions that Degas made throughout his career. Here, Lepic is seen with his pet, a Belgian Griffon, suggesting a fondness for dogs for which he was well-known in late-19th century Paris. He died just about one month after this portrait was completed at the age of 50.
  • 1917-1918
    Estate of Edgar Degas [1834-1917], Paris
    1918
    (Galerie Georges Petit, second Degas sale, Paris, December 12-13, 1918, no. 87, probably sold to Georges Viau)
    probably 1918-1942
    Georges Viau [1855-1939], Paris
    1942
    (Hotel Druout, Georges Viau sale, Paris, December 11, 1942, no. 65)
    1953?
    (M. Knoedler and Co., Paris)
    after 1953-before 1962
    John B. and Mildred [1890/92-1988] Putnam, Cleveland, OH
    by 1962-1988
    Peter A. Putnam, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    1988-
    Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    Provenance Footnotes
    1 Lugt 658, lower left, in red ink
  • Catalogue des tableaux, pastels, et dessins par Edgar Degas...2e vente. Paris: Georges Petit, 1918. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 49, no. 87
    Degas, portratiste, sculpteur. Exh. Cat. Paris: Musée de l'Orangerie, 1931. Mentioned: p. 99, no. 135
    Catalogue des dessins, aquarelles, gouaches, pastels...composant la collection de M. Georges Viau. Paris: Drouot, 1942. Mentioned: p. 25, no. 65; Reproduced: pl. III
    Lemoisne, Paul Andre. Degas et son oeuvre. Paris: Brame et de Hauke, 1946. Mentioned and reproduced: vol. III, no. 950
    Boggs, Jean Sutherland. Portraits by Degas. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1962. Mentioned: p. 69, no. 135; Reproduced: no. 135
    Russoli, Franco. L'opera completa di Degas. Milan: Rizzoli, 1970. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 116, no. 666
    "Recent Acquisitions at the Cleveland Museum of Art I: Departments of Western Art." Burlington Magazine 133, no. 1054 (January 1991): 63-68. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 66, no. XIV www.jstor.org
    Buchanan, Harvey. 1991. Edgar Degas and Ludovic Lepic : An Impressionist Friendship. Cleveland, Ohio: Harvey Buchanan. Mentioned: p. 1-150
    Kostenevich, Albert. Hidden Treasures Revealed: Impressionist Masterpieces and Other Important French Paintings Preserved by The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1995. Mentioned: p. 70; Reproduced: p. 77, fig. 6
    Buchanan, Harvey. "Edgar Degas and Ludovic Lepic: An Impressionist Friendship." Cleveland Studies in the History of Art 2 (1997): 32-121. Mentioned: 32-121; Reproduced: p. 33 www.jstor.org
    Prenant, Stéphanie. "Restauration ou revolution?: Emile Levy (1826-1890) et le pastel français dans les annees 1880." MA thesis, Paris 1, Panthéon Sorbonne, 2015. Mentioned: p. 85; Reproduced: p. 80, fig. 75
  • Pure Color: Pastels from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 19, 2016-March 19, 2017).
    Monet to Dalí: Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 21, 2007-January 13, 2008).
    Master Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 27-October 17, 2000).
    Object in Focus: Ludovic Lepic Holding His Dog by Edgar Degas. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 17-April 20, 1998).
    The Year in Review for 1988. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 1-May 14, 1989).
    Degas, portraitiste, sculpteur. Musée de l'Orangerie, Paris (July 19 - October 1, 1931).
  • {{cite web|title=Ludovic Lepic Holding His Dog|url=false|author=Edgar Degas|year=1889|access-date=20 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1988.93