Édouard Manet, Seated, Turned to the Right

Édouard Manet, Seated, Turned to the Right

Edgar Degas

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This etching is probably the final take in Degas's series of studio portraits of Manet. The sitter is turned to the right here, his legs uncrossed, his overcoat and hat (and gaiters) removed. The stretcher side of a large canvas defines the surrounding space and identifies it as an artist's studio. This dark, geometric backdrop absorbs the figure and makes the composition as tight as a drum.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Édouard Manet, Seated, Turned to the RightÉdouard Manet, Seated, Turned to the RightÉdouard Manet, Seated, Turned to the RightÉdouard Manet, Seated, Turned to the RightÉdouard Manet, Seated, Turned to the Right

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.