Édouard Manet, Seated, Right Profile

Édouard Manet, Seated, Right Profile

Edgar Degas

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This exploratory sketch fumbles with the sitter's arms and overcoat, but the head appears strong and sure; Manet's hair has been tousled by the removal of his hat. The full-bearded profile served as practice for the striking bust-length portrait Degas etched not long afterward.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Édouard Manet, Seated, Right ProfileÉdouard Manet, Seated, Right ProfileÉdouard Manet, Seated, Right ProfileÉdouard Manet, Seated, Right ProfileÉdouard Manet, Seated, Right Profile

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.