Edmondo and Therese Morbilli by Degas in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, January 2018

Edmondo and Thérèse Morbilli

Edgar Degas (French, 1834–1917)

about 1865

Medium/Technique Oil on canvas

Dimensions 116.5 x 88.3 cm (45 7/8 x 34 3/4 in.)

Credit Line Gift of Robert Treat Paine, 2nd

Accession Number: 31.33

Collections: Europe

Classifications: Paintings

Degas’s sister Thérèse married her cousin Edmondo Morbilli in Naples in 1863. About two years later, Degas painted this intriguing double portrait of the couple. Though they are united through touch and dress—her hand placed on his shoulder, his tie matching the hue of her ensemble—a palpable tension radiates from the painting. Edmondo physically dominates the composition, casting a shadow on his wife’s face. Thérèse’s disconcerting and piercing gaze imparts a sense of unease, and the divided background further separates the couple. Combining traditional elements of Italian Renaissance portraiture and visual elements of the modern daguerreotype photograph, the result is a penetrating likeness. Degas never sold his family portraits, and this one remained with descendants until 1927.


Provenance: Until 1917, with the artist; 1917/1918, to his brother, René de Gas (b. 1845 - d. 1926), Paris [see note 1]; November 10, 1927, posthumous René de Gas sale, Hotel Drouot, Paris, lot 71, to Galerie Georges Petit, Paris. 1930, Wildenstein and Co., New York; 1930, sold by Wildenstein to Robert Treat Paine, 2nd (b. 1861 - d. 1943), Boston [see note 2]; 1931, gift of Robert Treat Paine, 2nd, to the MFA. (Accession Date: January 15, 1931)

NOTES:
[1] Degas did not sell his family portraits but kept them in his studio until his death in 1917. His brother, René de Gas, removed this and other portraits prior to the sales of the studio contents, which took place in 1918. [2] In the brief article "Paine Lends Degas to Boston Museum," Art News 28 (August 16, 1930), p. 4, it is noted that "the painting was purchased a few weeks ago, from the Wildenstein Galleries by Mr. Paine."


Text from: collections.mfa.org/objects/32404/edmondo-and-therese-morbilli