Edouard Manet, Bust-Length Portrait

Edouard Manet, Bust-Length Portrait is a highly refined graphic work created by Edgar Degas French, 1834-1917 between 1864 and 1865. This print captures the likeness of Degas's friend and peer, the influential French painter Édouard Manet. Executed with a sophisticated approach, the medium employs a combination of etching, drypoint, and aquatint on white wove paper, showcasing Degas’s early, serious engagement with the graphic arts. The varied techniques allowed him to build texture and depth; the drypoint lends immediacy and energy to Manet's features, while the aquatint helps establish the deep, velvety shadows that define the subject's form against the background.

The portrait holds significant historical value, documenting the close relationship between two pivotal figures in 19th-century France as they navigated the transition from Realism toward Impressionism. Manet, slightly older and already a controversial figure in the Paris Salon, influenced Degas greatly. Here, Degas achieves a remarkable sense of psychological insight, emphasizing Manet's direct and introspective gaze.

The medium of prints allowed Degas to circulate and refine his works outside the official Salon structure. This study is an important example of 19th-century French culture and modern printmaking. This singular work is a key piece within the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.