The print Charles Baudelaire, Full Face III was created by Édouard Manet (French, 1832-1883) in 1868. This work is a compelling portrait of the influential Symbolist poet Charles Baudelaire, based on a photograph originally taken by the renowned photographer Nadar Gaspard Félix Tournachon. The technique employs etching and plate tone in black, meticulously heightened with brush and gray wash on ivory laid paper. This complex layering of media underscores the texture and contemplative mood of the subject, capturing the somber, direct gaze characteristic of the poet’s public persona.
Manet was a close friend and intellectual peer of Baudelaire, and his decision to render the poet's likeness in print reflects the deep professional and personal respect between the two figures central to modern art and literature in 19th-century France. This particular version, one of several portraits Manet executed of the poet, demonstrates the artist's serious commitment to graphic arts alongside his painting career.
As a crucial example of Manet's printmaking output, this image remains an essential document of the French avant-garde era. The piece is currently housed within the renowned collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. Prints of this iconic portrait, created during a period of intense artistic experimentation, often become available for study through digitized museum resources. Given its age and cultural significance, the celebrated Charles Baudelaire, Full Face III is sometimes found within public domain databases, allowing wider access to the legacy of this key French master.
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