Ludovic Lepic Holding His Dog

1889

Ludovic Lepic Holding His Dog, 1889. Edgar Degas (French, 1834–1917). Pastel; sheet: 49.8 x 32.1 cm (19 5/8 x 12 5/8 in.); secondary support: 50.6 x 38 cm (19 15/16 x 14 15/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the Mildred Andrews Fund 1988.93 Degas executed this portrait of his friend, the artist Ludovic Lepic, with rapid and expressive strokes of powdery pastel. The two artists worked together closely in printmaking early on, and this work is one of several commemorative depictions that Degas made throughout his career. Here, Lepic is seen with his pet, a Belgian Griffon, suggesting a fondness for dogs for which he was well-known in late-19th century Paris. He died just about one month after this portrait was completed at the age of 50. Scholars have suggested that the unusual tonality of this drawing is due to the fact that it was executed in artificial rather than natural light.