Portrait of the Art Critic Durand-Gréville

The art critic Émile Durand-Gréville (1838–1914) was perhaps not one of the more prominent writers in Paris in the late 1800s. He became friends with Degas in the 1870s. Little is known concerning their relationship. Degas portrays Durand-Gréville en face – frontally. This portrait is presumably a sketch, since the background is far from completed and the work is unsigned. Degas mainly painted portraits of his family, friends, contemporary writers, artists and other cultural celebrities. Portraits make up about one-fifth of his entire output.