Portrait of Edouard Manet c. 1867

Félix Bracquemond created this print, "Portrait of Édouard Manet," using etching. Bracquemond and Manet were both key figures in the burgeoning Impressionist movement of late 19th-century France, a time when artistic and social conventions were being questioned. As members of the Parisian avant-garde, they sought to represent modern life and challenged the strict academic painting styles of the time. Bracquemond, who was deeply involved in the revival of etching, captures Manet with a frankness that moves away from the formal portraiture that was popular at the time. This intimate portrayal offers insight into the intellectual and artistic circles of Paris, reflecting the changing identity of the artist in modern society. Instead of presenting Manet as a distant figure, Bracquemond’s print suggests a shared sense of artistic purpose. In his essay "The Painter of Modern Life", Charles Baudelaire argued for the artist to be at the very center of modern experience, which Bracquemond embodies here by presenting Manet as an active, thinking individual.