Théodule Ribot (1823-1891) was primarily self-taught as a painter, earning a living as a sign painter and gilder before turning seriously to painting in the late 1850s. His reputation rests on his sober realist still-lifes and genre scenes as well as portraits and a handful of religious subjects, characterised by close observation and strong chiaroscuro that was informed by his admiration for Ribera and Rembrandt as well as by his practice of working at night by candlelight.

This etching, which dates from the end of Ribot’s career (which was cut short by illness in 1878), depicts the art critic Émile Cardon (1824-1899), dressed in a suit and soft cap and holding a cigarette, against a dark background. The dramatic contrast between light and dark emphasises the sitter’s face and hand as the primary sources of light. The rendering of the face conveys a vivid sense of the sitter’s irascible personality (he is best remembered today for his scathing critiques of Impressionism, contemporaneous with this etching).

Provenance: acquired by Dr Donato Esposito before 2008 (source unknown)

Special Display - Toulouse-Lautrec prints, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 07/06/2011-06/10/2011

Inscription: : pencil : verso & lower right :: 217053