NARRATOR—Late in his career, Manet executed a series of portraits in pastel, depicting members of his glamorous social circle. The majority--two examples of which are frequently on view in this gallery-- depict beautiful women. In this particular work, Manet turned to pastel to capture what he considered to be the rather intractable appearance of the Irish critic and novelist George Moore. The portrait failed to please the sitter, who subsequently pestered the artist to retouch it. Manet steadfastly refused. He commented: "Is it my fault that Moore has that look of a broken egg yolk, or if the sides of his face are not aligned? The plague of our times is the need for symmetry. There is no symmetry in nature. One eye never matches the other; it's always different. We all have more or less crooked noses, our mouths are always irregular."