Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Dead Christ with Angels
Edouard Manet French
Not on view
This is the most ambitious copperplate that Manet ever produced in terms of its scale and level of complexity. The dimensions of the design correspond almost exactly to that of the preparatory watercolor, suggesting a direct transfer, but the precise method employed is unknown. The artist used etching needles of different thicknesses to draw on the waxy ground that coated the plate, which was then submerged in acid to bite into the exposed copper lines, allowing them to retain ink. He also applied aquatint to create areas of tone, alternating between these techniques to build up the layered image. Manet printed impressions at three different stages of the plate’s development—referred to as states—two of which are on view nearby.
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