Study for the Portrait of Louis Pasteur

This preparatory study by Edelfelt for his celebrated portrait of Louis Pasteur — one of the most famous scientist portraits in Western art — is a significant work in its own right. Edelfelt's finished Pasteur portrait (1885, Musée d'Orsay) shows the bacteriologist at his laboratory bench, combining the dignity of a formal portrait with the authenticity of the scientist at work. This study at the Ateneum documents the preparation process through which Edelfelt arrived at his final composition, preserving the exploratory phase of his most famous commission.

The study handling is looser and more searching than the finished portrait, with Edelfelt working out the tonal relationships and the position of the figure without committing to the final finish. The face is nonetheless painted with careful observation, capturing Pasteur's aged intensity.