Portrait of a Man (Diego Martelli)

Degas employed pencil and diluted ink washes to build form with subtle gradations, leaving many initial lines exposed. The brown palette—ochres, umbers, and slate tones—creates a unified, muted atmosphere. The visible corrections and hatched shading indicate an experimental approach, blending drawing and painting techniques to explore volume and light without relying on traditional oil methods.

The portrait remained in the possession of Martelli’s family until the 20th century. It entered the collection of the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in 1955, where it is now held. Its survival in private hands for decades underscores its status as a personal work, not widely exhibited during Degas’s lifetime, and reflects the artist’s preference for private experimentation over public display.

In the 1890s, Degas increasingly turned to drawing and pastel, moving away from oil painting. This portrait aligns with his broader interest in capturing character through gesture and tone rather than detail. Martelli, as a confidant and intellectual peer, represented a subject Degas trusted, allowing for a more candid and less conventional approach than typical commissioned portraits of the era.

The portrait stands as a testament to Degas’s evolving practice in his later years, where process and materiality became as significant as the subject. Its preservation in a major American institution highlights its value as a document of artistic inquiry. Scholars recognize it as a bridge between portraiture and the artist’s ongoing exploration of form through drawing.