Opus 217. Against the Enamel of a Background Rhythmic with Beats and Angles, Tones, and Tints, Portrait of M. Félix Fénéon in 1890

1890

Oil on canvas, 73.5 × 92.5 cm. The Museum of Modern Art, New York

A man holding a top hat and a flower stands against a spinning background of colored bands and stars. The portrait doubles as a statement of the group's ideas about color and rhythm.

A friend of the group is posed against a pattern this close to abstract design, so the portrait becomes a tribute to the method itself.
The sitter had defended the dot technique in print in 1887, urging viewers to step back.
Look at the pinwheel behind the sitter, which may nod to the color theorist Charles Henry.
The figure stands in strict left profile, set sharply against the flat pattern.
Mr. and Mrs. David Rockefeller gave it to the museum.

Besides writing criticism, he edited, translated and dealt in art, and he held anarchist views. He later owned Bathers at Asnières.

Image: Wikimedia Commons · PD-Art