Portrait Of A Musician At The Piano, Circa 1890

Portrait of a Musician at the Piano — Resemblance to Claude Debussy
French School, late 19th century
Oil on canvas, period giltwood frame
Frame dimensions: 63x55 cm

Portrait of a musician in a dark suit, seated at a piano, his hands resting on the keyboard, in a calm and concentrated posture. The background decor — curtains, a large vase and a painted landscape — evokes a cultivated bourgeois interior, typical of the second half of the 19th century. The young man, with his frank gaze and full beard, bears a certain resemblance to Claude Debussy (1862–1918), whose contemporary he was, a major figure in French music at the end of the century. The style of the beard, the hairstyle, the costume and the attitude of the model refer to the photographic portraits of Debussy around 1895–1905, at the time when he composed his major works such as Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune or Pelléas et Mélisande.
The practice of depicting musicians in an intimate setting at the piano was very popular during the Belle Époque, particularly in artistic and bourgeois circles sensitive to music and art.
This painting is part of this tradition, while avoiding a face close to one of the greatest French composers.