The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Paul Lafond and Alphonse Cherfils Examining a Painting

Paul Lafond and Alphonse Cherfils Examining a Painting

c. 1878–80
(French, 1834–1917)
France, 19th century
oil on wood panel
Framed: 42.5 x 50 x 6 cm (16 3/4 x 19 11/16 x 2 3/8 in.); Unframed: 27 x 34 cm (10 5/8 x 13 3/8 in.)
Bequest of Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. 1958.25
Location: 222 Impressionism & Post-Impressionism

Did You Know?

The gentlemen in this painting had close relationships with many Parisian artists and would go directly to their studios to purchase works that they wanted to exhibit or sell.

Description

The upper left corner of this painting bears a dedication by Degas "to his dear friends." The double portrait depicts Paul Lafond (left), future curator of the art museum at Pau, in southwestern France, and Alphonse Cherfils (right), an art collector and defender of the Impressionists. Through the influence of these friends, Degas's works were selected for the annual exhibitions of the Société des Amis des Arts (Society of Friends of the Arts), and his painting, A Cotton Office (1873), was the first by the artist to be purchased by a museum. Since the painting held by the two men is probably by Degas, this intimate image commemorates both personal and business relationships.
  • Alphonse Cherfils, Pau, France, by descent to his son, Christian Cherfils
    Christian Cherfils, Pau, France
    Marcel Guérin [1873-1948], Paris, France
    1950
    (Wildenstein & Co., New York, NY, January 10, 1950, sold to Leonard C. Hanna, Jr.)
    1950-1958
    Leonard C. Hannah [1889-1957], Cleveland, OH, bequeathed to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1958-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Lafond, Paul. Degas. Paris, FR: H. Floury, 1918. Reproduced: opp. title cover, vol. 2
    Lemoisne, Paul-André. Degas et son œuvre. Paris. FR: P. Brame et C.M. de Hauke, aux Arts et métiers graphiques, 1947. Reproduced: no. 647; vol 2
    Cleveland Museum of Art. In Memoriam: Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Reproduced: no. 11
    Francis, Henry S. "Report for the Year 1958: Painting Department." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art XXXXVI, no. 6 (June, 1959): 111-122. Mentioned: p. 22
    Boggs, Jean Sutherland. Portraits by Degas. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1962. Reproduced: p. 94, no. 2
    Parry, Eugenia. Degas Monotypes; Essay, Catalogue & Checklist. Cambridge, MA: Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University; distributed by New York Graphic Society, Greenwich, Conn, 1968. Reproduced: under no. 53
    Russoli, Franco and Fiorella Minervino. L'opera completa di Degas. Milano: IT Rizzoli, 1970. Reproduced: no. 580
    Reff, Theodore. Degas: The Artist's Mind. New York, NY: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1976. Reproduced: p. 85-86
    Nathanson, Carol and Edward Olszewski. "Degas's Angel of The Apocalypse." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art LXVII, no. 10 (October, 1980): 243-255. Reproduced: p. 252, fig. 21; Mentioned: p. 251
    Brettell, Richard R., and Suzanne Folds McCullagh. Degas in the Art Institute of Chicago. Chicago, IL: Art Institute of Chicago, 1984. Reproduced: p. 84
    Sutton, Denys. Edgar Degas, Life and Work. New York, NY: Rizzoli, 1986. Reproduced: p. 283
    Kendall, Richard. Degas by Himself: Drawings, Prints, Paintings, Writings. London, UK: Macdonald Orbis, 1987. Reproduced: p. 134
    Thomson, Richard, and Edgar Degas. The Private Degas. New York, N.Y.: Thames and Hudson, 1987. Referenced: cat. no. 59, p. 54, 140, Reproduced
    Sutton, Denys, and Jean Admémar. “Lettres Inédites De Degas Á Paul Lafond Et Autres Documents.” Gazette Des Beaux Arts 109, no. 129 (April 1987): 159–80. Reproduced: p. 160
    Brown, Marilyn R. “Degas and a Cotton Office in New Orleans.” Burlington Magazine 130 (March 1988): 216–21. Reproduced: p. 219, fig. 38
    Chong, Alan. European & American Painting in the Cleveland Museum of Art: A Summary Catalogue. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1993. Reproduced: p. 58
    Brown, Marilyn. Degas and the Business of Art: A Cotton Office in New Orleans. University Park, PA: Published for College Art Association by the Pennsylvania State University Press, 1994. Reproduced: p. 109, fig. 31
    Ives, Colta Feller, Susan Alyson Stein, and Julie A. Steiner. The Private Collection of Edgar Degas: A Summary Catalogue. New York, NY: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1997. Mentioned: p. 169; Reproduced: p. 170
    Feigenbaum, Gail, and Jean Sutherland Boggs. Degas and New Orleans: A French Impressionist in America. New Orleans, LA: New Orleans Museum of Art, 1999. Reproduced: p. 59, fig. 45
    D' Argencourt, Louise, and Roger Diederen. Catalogue of Paintings. Pt. 4. European Paintings of the 19th Century. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1974. Mentioned and reproduced: vol. 1, p. 78
    Dumas, Ann. Degas e gli italiani a Parigi: Ferrara, Palazzo dei Diamanti, 14 settembre-16 novembre 2003. Ferrara, IT: Ferrara arte, 2003. Mentioned: p. 222-223; Reproduced: no. 13
    Pingeot, Anne. "Rodin 1840-1917 und Degas (Bildhauer) 1834-1917: Umgang mit der Kunstkritik." In Degas - Rodin: Wettlauf der Giganten der Moderne. Gerhard Finckh, ed., 263-283. Wuppertal : Von der Heydt-Museum, 2016. Reproduced: p. 269
  • Degas and Rodin - Giants of Modernism. Von der Heydt-Museum, Wuppertal, Germany (organizer) (October 25, 2016-February 26, 2017).
    Edgar Degas and the Italians in Paris. Palazzo dei Diamanti, Ferrara (Galleria d'Arte Moderna et Contemporanea) (September 14-November 16, 2003); Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, Scotland (December 12, 2003-February 29, 2004).
    Faces of Impressionism: Portraits from American Collections. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (May 28-July 30, 2000).
    The Private Degas. Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (January 20-February 28, 1987); Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge CB2 1RB (March 17-May 3, 1987).
    Degas-Portraitiste Sculpteur. Musée de l'Orangerie, Paris, France (1931).
    Exposition Degas. Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, France (1924).
  • {{cite web|title=Paul Lafond and Alphonse Cherfils Examining a Painting|url=false|author=Edgar Degas|year=c. 1878–80|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1958.25