Detail of Diego Martelli by Degas in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, December 2023

Title: Diego Martelli

Artist: Edgar Degas (French, Paris 1834–1917 Paris)

Date: 1879

Geography: Country of Origin France

Culture: French

Medium: Oil on canvas

Dimensions: 43 7/16 × 39 5/16 in., 88.2 lb. (110.4 × 99.8 cm, 40 kg)
Framed: 52 3/4 × 48 3/4 × 4 3/16 in. (134 × 123.9 × 10.7 cm)

Classification: Paintings

Credit Line: National Galleries of Scotland. Purchased 1932 (NG 1785)

In 1879, Degas made many studies leading up to this portrait of his friend and supporter Diego Martelli, an important Italian art critic and patron. Degas most likely first encountered Martelli, a champion of progressive modern art, while he was in Florence. Years later, Martelli was one of the critics of Manet’s Déjeuner sur l’herbe, calling it “ugly” when it was exhibited at the Salon des Refusés in 1863. He is shown here with his arms folded and his back to his desk. Martelli’s writings on the fourth Impressionist exhibition, in 1879, were central to publicizing the movement in Italy. He did not have the pleasure of seeing this astonishing portrait of himself, as it remained in Degas’s studio until the artist’s death.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/844694