Marine

The print Marine was created by Édouard Manet French, 1832-1883 between 1865 and 1866. This work, classified as a print, showcases Manet’s experimental engagement with various intaglio processes. Executed in brown ink on ivory laid paper, the composition skillfully utilizes etching, aquatint, and roulette techniques. The combination of these methods allowed Manet to achieve subtle tonal variations and textural effects, characteristic of his innovative approach to graphic arts during this period. The delicate application of the roulette, in particular, provided granular texture that contrasts with the broader fields achieved through aquatint.

Created during a crucial transition in 19th-century French art, this piece reflects Manet’s tendency to depict contemporary environments with a sense of visual shorthand. While details of the maritime scene are minimal, the subject matter falls within the established tradition of marine studies, focusing on the sea's expansive, atmospheric qualities rather than narrative drama. Unlike the highly finished canvases often preferred by the academic Salon, Manet employed a sense of immediacy in this graphic work. His prolific exploration of printmaking—producing dozens of influential prints—was part of a broader artistic movement in France to elevate and modernize the status of reproductive media.

This significant print demonstrates Manet’s technical mastery beyond his oil paintings. The brown tones accentuate the subject’s sparse, modern composition, highlighting the artist's focus on light and atmosphere conveyed through line and tone. Now part of the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, Marine is an essential example of the graphic output of the artist. As a historical work residing in a major institutional collection, high-resolution reproductions of such influential prints are often made accessible to researchers and the public, sometimes entering the public domain.