Portrait of Octave Maus

Théo van Rysselberghe's second portrait of Octave Maus (1885) — distinct from the 'dandy' portrait of the same year — provides another view of the same pivotal figure in Belgian avant-garde culture. Two portraits of the same subject in the same year suggests a close relationship and multiple sessions, each producing a different image of Maus as he appeared to his friend and collaborator in different circumstances or moods. The variations between the two portraits document how Rysselberghe approached the same individual from different angles.

The second Maus portrait likely represents a different compositional approach or emotional register from the 'dandy' portrait — the same face and form captured with different emphasis. Van Rysselberghe's portrait handling at this stage (before his Pointillist conversion) is tonally direct and psychologically attentive. The comparison between the two portraits reveals his ability to find different truths about the same subject through repetition.