Paul Lafond and Alphonse Cherfils Examining a Painting (c. 1878–80): Art, History and Details

Paul Lafond and Alphonse Cherfils Examining a Painting (c. 1878–80) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Edgar Degas (French, 1834–1917).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

The upper left corner of this painting bears a dedication by Degas "to his dear friends." The double portrait depicts Paul Lafond (left), future curator of the art museum at Pau, in southwestern France, and Alphonse Cherfils (right), an art collector and defender of the Impressionists. Through the influence of these friends, Degas's works were selected for the annual exhibitions of the Société des Amis des Arts (Society of Friends of the Arts), and his painting, A Cotton Office (1873), was the first by the artist to be purchased by a museum. Since the painting held by the two men is probably by Degas, this intimate image commemorates both personal and business relationships.

Object facts

• Title: Paul Lafond and Alphonse Cherfils Examining a Painting
• Date: c. 1878–80
• Creator attribution: Edgar Degas (French, 1834–1917)
• Culture: France, 19th century
• Type: Painting
• Technique: oil on wood panel
• Dimensions: Framed: 42.5 x 50 x 6 cm (16 3/4 x 19 11/16 x 2 3/8 in.); Unframed: 27 x 34 cm (10 5/8 x 13 3/8 in.)
• Collection: Mod Euro - Painting 1800-1960
• Department: Modern European Painting and Sculpture
• Accession number: 1958.25

A detail from the museum

The gentlemen in this painting had close relationships with many Parisian artists and would go directly to their studios to purchase works that they wanted to exhibit or sell.

Collection credit

Bequest of Leonard C. Hanna Jr.

Further reading listed by the museum

• Lafond, Paul. Degas. Paris, FR: H. Floury, 1918.
• Lemoisne, Paul-André. Degas et son œuvre. Paris. FR: P. Brame et C.M. de Hauke, aux Arts et métiers graphiques, 1947.
• Cleveland Museum of Art. In Memoriam: Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.