Artwork
Stefanina Primicile Carafa, Marchioness of Cicerale and Duchess of Montejasi
Stefanina Primicile Carafa, Marchioness of Cicerale and Duchess of Montejasi is an unspecified painting by the Impressionist artist Edgar Degas. It dates from 1875 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
Overview
Edgar Degas painted the portrait of Stefanina Primicile Carafa, Marchioness of Cicerale and Duchess of Montejasi, in 1875. The work is part of the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it is displayed among the museum’s 19th‑century European paintings.
Subject & Meaning
The canvas presents the aristocratic sitter from the shoulders up, her hair gathered back and her expression composed. She is dressed in a high‑necked black gown, a choice that emphasizes the formality of her rank while allowing the artist to focus attention on her facial features.
Technique & Style
Degas employs loose, gestural brushwork, especially in the darkened background that dissolves into warm brown and red tones. Areas such as the collar remain intentionally unfinished, with visible strokes that contrast with the smoother rendering of the face, heightening its prominence within the composition.
History & Provenance
Since its creation in the mid‑1870s, the portrait has changed hands through private collections before being acquired by the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it now resides as a representative example of Degas’s portraiture from this period.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas on 19 July 1834 in Paris, Edgar Degas came from an affluent banking family with aristocratic roots and spent his childhood among the cultivated circles of the French capital.
