Tête de profil (Head of a Raven in Profile) (frontispiece) from Le Corbeau (The Raven)

Tête de profil (Head of a Raven in Profile) (frontispiece) from Le Corbeau (The Raven) by Édouard Manet is a powerful example of 19th-century French graphic art, created in 1875. This lithograph served as the introductory frontispiece for the limited-edition illustrated book featuring Stéphane Mallarmé’s translation of Edgar Allan Poe’s iconic narrative poem, "The Raven." The collaboration between Manet, a central figure in modern painting, and Mallarmé, a progenitor of Symbolist poetry, marks a critical moment where visual and literary avant-gardes converged.

The medium of lithography was expertly employed by Manet to capture the eerie, psychological tension of Poe’s text. The image focuses tightly on the profile of the raven’s head, rendered in stark black and white contrasts typical of the printing process. Manet utilized loose, expressive lines, giving the subject an animated yet menacing quality consistent with the bird’s role as the inescapable embodiment of sorrow in the poem. This print, one of six lithographs included in the publication, showcases the artist’s mastery outside the realm of oil painting, reinforcing his dedication to printmaking as an equally expressive art form.

The Illustrated Book project, Le Corbeau, demonstrated Manet’s engagement with literary and intellectual circles, further situating him within the cultural ferment of 1875. The piece is highly regarded not only for its artistic merit but for its synthesis of American gothic literature and French aesthetic sensibility. This essential work of graphic design remains a key reference for studying Manet's contributions to prints and book illustration. This important record of French artistic output is preserved in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, ensuring its availability for scholars researching the development of modern printmaking techniques.