Edgar Degas (Paris, France, 1834–1917, Paris, France). <em>Portrait of a Man (Portrait d'homme)</em>, ca. 1866. Oil on canvas, 34 x 25 1/2 in. (86.4 x 64.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Collection Fund, 21.112 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 21.112_PS9.jpg)

Edgar Degas (Paris, France, 1834–1917, Paris, France). Portrait of a Man (Portrait d'homme), ca. 1866. Oil on canvas, 34 x 25 1/2 in. (86.4 x 64.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Collection Fund, 21.112 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 21.112_PS9.jpg)

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Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

Did Degas often paint portraits?

Yes, in fact, he did -- before he became interested in painting scenes of the ballet (which he is famous for), he painted many portraits of individuals and groups. In the 1860s Degas repeatedly used this formula in his portraiture: a male sitter seated in a studio space, dressed in everyday clothing, with his figure framed by the rectangles of works of art on the wall. As in other portraits, this sitter is posed informally, almost awkwardly, leaning slightly to one side with his hands clasped between his knees. In 1869 Degas wrote that contemporary artists should "make portraits of people in familiar and typical attitudes"—rather than conventionalized poses. The sitter for this portrait was not identified by Degas. Degas scholars Denys Sutton and Henri Loyrette have both proposed that the man may be the British painter Robert Grahame, who was known for his still-life works. This theory is supported by the objects in the portrait, which seem to be arrangements of food for still-life studies. Grahame was known for his still-life paintings of meats, eggs, and other ordinary foods (rather than rare fruits and flowers). On the other hand, the scholar Felix Baumann has suggested that the sitter might be the artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir, based on similarities to some early photographs of Renoir. Renoir was also known to have sketched several detailed studies on a single canvas, as shown here.

Did Degas often paint portraits?

Yes, he did! Degas painted many portraits early in his career, before he became known for his paintings of the ballet. Before 1872, Degas spent most of his time working on portraits of his family and friends. Although portraits are usually commissioned and some of fellow Impressionists (Monet and Renoir) sought fashionable portrait commissions throughout their careers, Degas never painted a portrait on commission, always maintaining a certain independence.

Throughout his life, he chose his own subjects and was interested in capturing unguarded moments and something of an internal psychology.

Do we know who this guy is?

The sitter for this portrait was never identified by Degas himself, but scholars have suggested he may be the British painter Robert Grahame, who was known for his still-life works. You'll see that some of the objects in the portrait are arrangements of food for still-life studies! The French art historian Henri Loyrette has a theory on the sitter that he will publish in June, 2016 in the catalogue accompanying the Degas retrospective in Melbourne (Australia) and Houston. Stay tuned!

Thanks!

You're welcome!

Did Degas often paint portraits?

Yes he did! Especially earlier in his career (in the 1860s), before he came to his most famous subject (ballet dancers), Degas spent most of his time working on portraits of his family and friends. He was interested in capturing people in unguarded moments, and showing something of their psychology. Although portraits are usually commissioned, Degas never painted a portrait on commission. He always maintained a certain independence.

Did Degas often paint portraits?

Although Degas is perhaps best known for his paintings of ballet dancers, he also painted many portraits during his career. In the mid-19th century, some artists began to change portraitures emphasis from social status to individual personality. These artists, including Degas, began to explore new ways of communicating the sitter's character to viewers. Do you feel like you can guess anything about this person from his portrait by Degas?

Is he a butcher?

That's a great guess, because of the two platters of meat, right? He may actually be an artist who painted still-lifes of food and then those plates would be his "props."

He looks awkward sitting like that. I guess that an artist would find it awkward to pose for someone.

Yes, he's kind of slumped, with his legs oddly bent like he's tired, or bored. If you look at some of the earlier portraits on that wall, you'll see how individuals were shown in more formal, "proper" poses. This was because the portraits were made to preserve their legacies and achievements and social status. Degas, on the other hand, is just interested in man as an individual with a personality.

It makes sense. For me a portrait would have to describe a picture of your present, but the present is not what is in front of you. The present is what makes you the person that you are at the moment.

You put that so well, and I agree! It's a "modern" way of thinking but it's true, we are all so much more than our facial features and our best set of clothing.

Maybe Degas wanted to portray a person through what we can't recognize at first.

Of course, I also enjoy very elegant traditional portraits but I find Degas's portraits so perceptive and moving. I hope you'll look up more of them online at some point! He looks deeper into the person, and he uses pictorial techniques like composition (especially unusual viewpoints and cropped edges), color palettes, and his handling of the paint to convey a feeling about that individual.

Portrait of a Man (Portrait d'homme)

Edgar Degas

European Art

In this enigmatic painting, an unidentified man in modern bourgeois attire sits in a chair among cuts of meat. A platter bearing sausage and a bloody, freshly carved pig’s trotter rests on the cloth-covered table, and what appears to be a rib roast sits on another platter (or is it an artist’s palette?) on the floor. Midway between these two plates of dead animal flesh are the man’s clasped hands, which reinforce the melancholic mood of his partly shadowed face. Behind him hangs another cloth partially covering some indecipherable images (perhaps meat?) in a frame on the wall.

It has been suggested that the scene depicts a butcher’s shop, a restaurant, or, more likely, an artist in his studio—a theme that Edgar Degas explored in numerous works. A disquieting combination of portraiture and still life, the image thwarts easy explanation.

ARTIST Edgar Degas, Paris, France, 1834–1917, Paris, France

MEDIUM Oil on canvas

Place Made: France

DATES ca. 1866

DIMENSIONS 34 x 25 1/2 in. (86.4 x 64.8 cm) Frame: 44 3/4 x 36 1/4 x 4 5/8 in. (113.7 x 91.4 x 12.1 cm) (show scale)

MARKINGS Stamped lower right: "Degas" (Lugt 658)

COLLECTIONS European Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 21.112

CREDIT LINE Museum Collection Fund

PROVENANCE May 6-7, 1918, purchased from the artist’s estate at Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, France, no. 36 by Jacques Seligmann of Paris; between 1918 and 1921, provenance not yet documented; January 27, 1921, purchased at American Art Association, New York, NY, "The Notable Private Collection of Paintings & Pastels by the Great French Master Hilaire Germain Edgar Degas" no. 35 by the Brooklyn Museum.

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EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

CAPTION Edgar Degas (Paris, France, 1834–1917, Paris, France). Portrait of a Man (Portrait d'homme), ca. 1866. Oil on canvas, 34 x 25 1/2 in. (86.4 x 64.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Collection Fund, 21.112 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 21.112_PS9.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 21.112_PS9.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2015

"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.

RIGHTS STATEMENT No known copyright restrictions

This work may be in the public domain in the United States. Works created by United States and non-United States nationals published prior to 1923 are in the public domain, subject to the terms of any applicable treaty or agreement. You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this work. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). The Museum does not warrant that the use of this work will not infringe on the rights of third parties, such as artists or artists' heirs holding the rights to the work. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions before copying, transmitting, or making other use of protected items beyond that allowed by "fair use," as such term is understood under the United States Copyright Act. The Brooklyn Museum makes no representations or warranties with respect to the application or terms of any international agreement governing copyright protection in the United States for works created by foreign nationals. For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

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Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

Did Degas often paint portraits?

Throughout his life, he chose his own subjects and was interested in capturing unguarded moments and something of an internal psychology.

Do we know who this guy is?

Thanks!

You're welcome!

Did Degas often paint portraits?

Is he a butcher?

That's a great guess, because of the two platters of meat, right? He may actually be an artist who painted still-lifes of food and then those plates would be his "props."

He looks awkward sitting like that. I guess that an artist would find it awkward to pose for someone.

You put that so well, and I agree! It's a "modern" way of thinking but it's true, we are all so much more than our facial features and our best set of clothing.

Maybe Degas wanted to portray a person through what we can't recognize at first.