Stefanina Primicile Carafa, Marchioness of Cicerale and Duchess of Montejasi is an oil on fabric painting created by Edgar Degas between 1870 and 1880. This piece is a significant example of Degas’s portraiture, executed during a period defined by dynamic cultural shifts in France. The sitter, Stefanina Primicile Carafa (1831-1880), was a Neapolitan noblewoman and a relative of the artist’s father, Auguste Degas, highlighting the personal connections often found in Degas’s private portrait commissions.
Unlike his better-known depictions of ballet dancers or racecourses, this canvas focuses on a singular, powerful figure captured in a moment of poised contemplation. Degas utilized the rich texture of oil on fabric to convey the sitter's status and the complexities of her personality. The brushwork reflects the artistic environment of France in the late nineteenth century, blending elements of rigorous academic drawing with the emerging freedoms of light and atmosphere characteristic of the Impressionist movement, with which Degas was loosely associated. This particular period was crucial for the development of modern French painting, shifting the emphasis from formal realism toward deeper psychological insight into the subject.
The composition showcases the artist's skill in capturing the dignified yet intimate presence of the Marchioness. Preserved within the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, this painting, identified by its full title, Stefanina Primicile Carafa, Marchioness of Cicerale and Duchess of Montejasi, serves as an important document of European aristocratic life rendered by a master of French Realism. As an artwork from the 1870s, it contributes greatly to the understanding of Degas’s varied oeuvre. High-quality reproductions and prints of this historical work are often sought after, particularly as many historical pieces from this era transition into the public domain, ensuring widespread access to the master’s technique.
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