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Enfant portant
un Plateau
Moreau-Nélaton
66, Guérin 15, Harris 28, Wilson-Bareau 28
etching and aquatint,
1861 (although J. Wilson-Bareau suggests rather 1867-9), on medium-fine
yellowish Japon paper with wirelines, the 2nd state (of 3), a
very fine impression with wide margins, a slight printing crease
in the left margin, localized skinning on the reverse resulting
from a fibrous inclusion in the paper, and traces of hinges from
an old mount on the reverse, otherwise in excellent condition
P. 240x160mm., S. 366x262mm.
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Provenance: the Henri
M. Petiet collection, with the HMP wetstamp on the reverse (not
cited in Lugt)
This charming print,
which characterises an innovative freedom of line in Manet's graphic
technique, corresponds to a derivative study based on one of the
figures in the early painting Cavaliers espagnols (1859)
that was subsequently used in the chiaroscuro background of Le
Balcon (1868-9), and represents Manet's son, Léon Leenhoff.
It was never published
in the artist's lifetime and, although the number of contemporary
proofs is not known, may be considered as quite rare; the only
known edition, that of Porcaboeuf, comprised only 12 impressions,
on "vieux Japon à la forme" according to Guerin,
while both Harris and Fisher note this edition as being on a heavy
Japon paper. It is thus difficult to distinguish early proofs
from those of the edition, especially as the 1st state proof in
the Bibliothèque Nationale is on a similar fine yellowish
Japon paper, and another impression from the Petiet collection
that we were able to examine was indeed on a heavier handmade
ivory Japon paper that better fits these descriptions.
