Achille De Gas, 1868-1872
Edgar Degasexpand_more
Thinned oil paint over graphite on paper prepared with oil, mounted on canvasexpand_more
Bequest of Putnam Dana McMillanexpand_more 61.36.8
Not on Viewexpand_more
Edgar Degas often used his family and friends as models. Here, his younger brother Achille poses as a dapper flâneur, a fixture of Parisian society who watches the urban spectacle with an air of boredom and ironic detachment. Achille himself was something of a pretentious do-nothing, frequently running up debts and engaging in scandalous behavior. (He shot and wounded the husband of a former lover in front of the Paris stock exchange.)
Degas portrays Achille leaning on an umbrella, twisting his hip and pushing his chest forward to emphasize the studied nonchalance of his half-buttoned coat. The sketch is a study for the male spectator in the foreground of the painting At the Races. With eyes downcast and striking a self-consciously debonair pose, the fellow is clearly more interested in being seen than in the action behind him.
Details
- Title
- Achille De Gas
- Artist Life
- 1834 - 1917
- Role
- Artist
- Accession Number
- 61.36.8
- Provenance
- René De Gas, brother of the artist, Paris (until 1927; his sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, November 10, 1927, no. 81, for Fr. 25,000, to Dale); Chester Dale, New York (1927-44; sale, Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, March 16, 1944, no. 38, property of "N.Y. Private Collector" [Chester Dale], for $1,600, to Seligmann); [Jacques Seligmann & Co., New York, 1944-49; sold February 11, for $4,500, to McMillan]; Putnam Dana McMillan, Santa Barbara and Minneapolis (1949-d.1961; bequeathed to MIA)
- Catalogue Raisonne
- Lemoisne 307
- Curator Approved
This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.
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