ÉDOUARD MANET (1832-1883)

This portrait of Berthe Morisot is the third print made by Manet after his oil painting from 1872, depicting his fellow artist and muse in a black mourning dress, holding a bouquet of violets. (See Harris 73-74 for the two preceding lithographs.) While the lithographs, in the same direction as the painting, reflect a similar emotional attitude, the etching portrays the sitter in a tenser pose, leaning towards the viewer. Morisot's expression is tired and somber, revealing a genuine sense of mourning. Only a few lifetime proofs of the first state exists, while three editions of the second state were published after the artist's death, before the plate was cancelled in the third state.