Paul Lafond and Alphonse Cherfils Examining a Painting
c. 1878–80
Medium
oil on wood panel
Dimensions
unframed: 27 × 34 cm · framed: 42.5 × 50 × 6 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Modern European Painting and Sculpture
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Bequest of Leonard C. Hanna Jr.
Accession Number
1958.25
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
About this artwork
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 f...