Portrait of Comte Lepic

Ludovic Lepic|Marcellin Desboutin

1876 · Drypoint; sixth state of seven · Drawings and Prints

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.

Artist

Ludovic Lepic|Marcellin Desboutin

Date

1876

Medium

Drypoint; sixth state of seven

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1922