This important early etching is Degas's only self-portrait in the print medium. He had first experimented with etching in 1856, and the following year, during a sojourn in Italy, produced this print, emulating the self-portrait etchings of his great ancestors Rembrandt van Rijn, and Sir Anthony van Dyck.
Degas worked his self-portrait through four successive states. The subject is fully delineated in the first state, and in the following states the artist built up the tonal contrasts with layers of cross hatching to heighten the chiaroscuro effect. In the third state areas of the background were roughened with a bitten tone and the plate selectively wiped with varying amounts of surface ink creating an effect which has been described as ‘aesthetically pleasing in its expressive Rembrandtesque light and shade’ (S. Reed & B. Shapiro, Boston, p. 23). In the fourth and final state the artist clarified the image, removing much of the background tone.
Impressions of Edgar Degas, par lui-même are very rare. Reed & Shapiro were aware of five impressions of the fourth state, of which three were signed by the artist, including the present example (Degas's practice was generally to leave his etchings unsigned). Reed & Shapiro cite a total of 17 impressions across all four states, of which 13 are in public collections.