Portrait of a Man 1 by Degas

Revealing with remarkable psychological strength the inner life of a contemporary, the eminent painter Degas Edgar executed this magnificent male portrait entitled “Portrait of a Man 1”. This painting belongs to his long series of intimate portraits and demonstrates the realist movement through its refusal of academic poses, preferring to restore with disarming sincerity the psychological and human truth of the model beyond a simple physical resemblance.

A man of a certain age is represented in a close-up frontal view, his head slightly tilted downward. His face marked by the wrinkles of time displays an introspective look and a pensive pout under a thin graying mustache. His very pronounced baldness reveals a few thin strands of curly gray hair on the sides of his skull. He is dressed in a black jacket buttoned over a white shirt of which only the white collar stands out, tied with a large dark bow tie. The background is a solid, warm dark terracotta color. Clear light illuminates his face from above.

This work celebrates the exceptional craftsmanship of the artist in the art of portraiture. Using precise and vibrant pictorial touches, he models the volumes of the face and suggests the texture of the fabrics. The perfect rendering of light and shade and the accuracy of observation make this painting a masterpiece of rare depth.