Z. Astruc, Editor of _L'Artiste_

About this work

This portrait features a man with a full beard and wavy hair, gazing directly at the viewer. He wears a dark jacket over a lighter-colored shirt, with his right hand raised to his chin. The background is a light color, with some darker shading behind the subject's head. The artist's use of drypoint on Asian laid paper creates a sense of texture and depth in the image. The overall effect is one of quiet contemplation, as if the subject is lost in thought. To learn more about the artist's use of chiaroscuro, a technique that uses strong contrasts between light and dark to create a sense of volume in an image, look up chiaroscuro.