Portrait of Comte Lepic
Desboutin and Ludovic Lepic met as mutual friends of Edgar Degas, who painted a double portrait of the two printmakers in 1876 (Musée d'Orsay). In this frank portrait from the same year, Lepic sits casually beside an easel. On the wall behind him is a drawing of Crouton, a water spaniel he gifted to Desboutin. In preparing this work, Desboutin developed it through seven states, creating many permutations of the composition in a manner similar to Lepic’s concept of "mobile etching," in which, by varying elements on the matrix, every impression was unique.
Artwork Details
- Title: Portrait of Comte Lepic
- Artist: Marcellin Desboutin (French, Cérilly 1823–1902 Nice)
- Sitter: Ludovic Lepic (French, Paris 1839–1889 Paris)
- Date: 1876
- Medium: Drypoint; sixth state of seven
- Dimensions: Sheet: 17 5/8 × 13 1/4 in. (44.8 × 33.7 cm)
Plate: 12 1/2 × 9 5/16 in. (31.7 × 23.7 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1922
- Object Number: 22.63.156
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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