Portrait of the artist 1894

Marcellin Desboutin created this self-portrait using drypoint, a printmaking technique, sometime in the late 19th century. Desboutin was part of a circle of artists and writers in Paris who aimed to represent modern life, and he himself was often portrayed as a bohemian figure. Notice how Desboutin's gaze meets ours, engaging us directly. His somewhat disheveled appearance, with his untamed hair and beard, challenges the conventional portraiture of the time, which often idealized its subjects. It suggests a life dedicated to art, perhaps at the expense of social norms. During this era, there was a growing interest in portraying the artist as an individual set apart from bourgeois society. This image aligns with that trope while also portraying the artist as a laborer. Desboutin seems to ask us to consider not only the identity of the artist, but also the act of making art, with all its messiness and intensity. The print thus captures a pivotal moment in art history, one that continues to resonate with contemporary concerns about identity, authenticity, and the role of the artist in society.