Self-Portrait - Degas Saluting by Degas

The practice of the self-portrait marks the beginning of Edgar Degas’s career, as brilliantly proven by this canvas titled “Self-Portrait - Degas Saluting”. This early work is in the tradition of the great classical masters whom the artist passionately studied at the Louvre Museum. While respecting the codes of academic portraiture, Degas already inserts a modern sensitivity and psychological restraint that foreshadow his future aesthetic research within the Impressionist movement.

A bearded young man with dark hair stands in the center of the composition, turned three-quarters toward the viewer. Dressed in an impeccable black jacket over a white shirt with a wing collar and bow tie, he holds a black top hat and beige leather gloves in his right hand. His left hand is discreetly slipped into his pocket. The background is divided vertically: the left part shows a wall of a deep brick red, while the right part opens onto a cloudy, bluish sky. The direct light illuminates the serious face and direct gaze of the model.

This youth work already reveals Degas’s exceptional talent and his immense technical mastery of oil painting. The meticulous rendering of the textiles, the delicacy of the hands, and the subtle balance of the colors bear witness to remarkable artisanal expertise and a great rigor of execution.