Édouard Manet, Seated, Turned to the Right
Edgar Degas French
Portrait of Edouard Manet French
Not on view
Degas synthesized different aspects of his preparatory drawing to compose the etching. To Manet’s body, casually seated sideways in the chair, he appended the larger version of the head from the sheet of sketches, carefully replicating it down to each strand of hair. Behind the artist he added the back of a wooden stretcher, which serves as a framing device and sets the scene in a studio. The number of surviving impressions of the print implies that Degas was reasonably pleased with it; however, he ultimately burnished out the head and background on the copperplate, suggesting he intended to rework it.
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