Edgar Degas
(1834–1917)
Standing Man in a Bowler Hat, ca. 1870
Stamped in red ink at lower left corner, Degas.
Oil paint thinned with turpentine, on brown paper
12 3/4 x7 7/8 inches (323 x 201 mm)
Bequest of John S. Thacher
1985.39
Item description:
This study of a well-dressed flaneur is similar to Degas' depictions of his urbane and fashionable brother Achille in Paris in the years prior to the artist's 1872 departure for New Orleans. It may have been executed about the same time that Degas prepared A Cotton Office: this bearded gentleman is perhaps an unused stock figure for the finished composition. The purpose of the odd, angular outlines in the lower half of the sheet is unknown.