Self-Portrait

c. 1855

Edgar Degas

Associated Names
Edgar Degas

Artist, French, 1834 - 1917

This image depicts a head-and-shoulders portrait of a person in a side profile. The person has a straight nose, full lips, and eyes looking forward. Their hair is wavy and frames the sides of the head. The subject wears a garment that appears to be a shirt or jacket, with subtle details blending into the background. The background is plain, rendered in reddish-brown tones on light, textured paper. No jewelry or objects are visible, and the paper's edges are slightly frayed.

Media Options

This object’s media is free and in the public domain. Read our full Open Access policy for images.
Not on view See artworks now on view

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    red chalk on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Woodner Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 31 x 23.3 cm (12 3/16 x 9 3/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1991.182.23

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Lemoisne 1946, undescribed

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Degas atelier (Lugt 657); René de Gas [1845-1927, brother of the artist]; (sale, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, 10 November 1927, lot 12); (purchased by Paul Rosenberg et Cie.); purchased December 1929 by John Nicholas Brown, Providence, R.I.; (David Tunick, New York); purchased by Ian Woodner, New York, 13 August 1986; by inheritance to his daughters, Andrea and Dian Woodner; gift to NGA, 1991.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1931

  • Dix-Neufs Portraits de Degas par Lui-Même, Marcel Guérin, Paris, 1931.

1935

  • Master Drawings Selected from the Museums and Private Collections of America, Albright Art Gallery, Buffalo, 1935, no. 113.

1936

  • Degas 1834-1917, The Pennsylvania Museum of Art, Philadelphia, 1936, no. 58.

1962

  • Forty Master Drawings from the Collection of John Nicholas Brown, Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, 1962, no. 5.

1967

  • Drawings by Degas, City Art Museum of St. Louis, St. Louis and tour, 1967, no. 1.

1987

  • Master Drawings: The Woodner Collection, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1987, no. 91.

1988

  • Degas, Isetan Museum of Art, Tokyo and tour, 1988-89, no. 9.

1990

  • Master Drawings from the Woodner Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1990, no. 115.

1994

  • Degas -- Portraits, Kunsthaus Zürich, 1994-1995, no. 23, repro. p. 162.

1995

  • The Touch of the Artist: Master Drawings from the Woodner Collections, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1995-1996, no. 105.

2001

  • Degas and America: The Early Collectors, High Museum of Art, Atlanta; The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 2001, no. 6.

  • "Degas and America: The Early Collectors", High Museum of Art, Atlanta; The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 2001, no. 6.

2006

  • Master Drawings from the Woodner Collections, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2006 - 2007.

2017

  • The Woodner Collections: Master Drawings from Seven Centuries, NGA, 2017.

Bibliography

1932

  • Mongan, Agnes. "Portrait Studies by Degas in American Collections." Bulletin of the Fogg Art Museum 1, no 4. (May 1932): 63, fig. 3.

1946

  • Rewald, John. The History of Impressionism. New York, 1946: repro. 12.

  • Lemoisne, Paul André. Degas et son oeuvre. 4 vols. Paris: Arts et metiers graphiques, 1946-1949. Vols. 2 and 3, 1946. Reprinted in 5 vols., New York and London, 1984.

1948

  • Huyghe, René, and Philippe Jaccottet. Le Dessin Français au XIXe siècle. Lausanne, 1948: 175, pl. 90.

1959

  • Rosenberg, Jakob. Great Draughtsmen from Pisanello to Picasso. Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1959: 107-108, fig. 197.

1987

  • Melikian, Souren. "A Master Collector, Ian Woodner: An Eye for the Future." Art & Auction. (November 1987): 86.

1995

  • The Touch of the Artist: Master Drawings from the Woodner Collections. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1995-1996: no. 105.

1999

  • Gammell, R.H. Ives. "The Shop-Talk of Edgar Degas, Chapter III" Classical Realism Journal 5 (Spring 1999): 34.

Markings

Atelier stamp at lower left in red ink

Wikidata ID

Q64556365

You may be interested in

Loading Results