Getty Museum
Man in Profile
Creator
Edgar DegasFrench Photographer · 1834–1917
All works by this person →> No art was ever less spontaneous than mine. What I do is the result of reflection and study of the great masters; of inspiration, spontaneity, temperament . . . I know nothing. > > --Edgar Germaine Hilaire Degas From a wealthy Parisian family, Degas devoted himself exclusively to painting without needing to sell a canvas. His training was conventional: he spent five years in Italy, studied the O
More on Getty ULAN- Date
- about 1877
- Medium
- Graphite
- Culture
- French
- Department
- Drawings
- Institution
- Getty Museum
An unknown man stares out to the left, drawn in a sharp profile that emphasizes his high-domed head and projecting beard. Edgar Degas first drew him with a much smaller head, then raised up his forehead and skull, giving the man a more substantial presence. Quick, parallel lines form the sitter's dark mustache, while softer, curving strokes create the paler wisps of his beard. Degas only lightly sketched in his subject's clothing, with merely a few lines to indicate the rounded collar of a dinner jacket and a black necktie.
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