Édouard Manet (1832–1883)
The Toilette, from the portfolio Eight Etchings by Manet, 1862
Etching printed in brown-black on cream laid paper
Sheet: 20 9/16 x 13 7/8 in. (52.2 x 35.3 cm)
Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts, 1962.80
This bather draws inspiration from works by Rembrandt and Watteau. By leaving much of the area of the bather’s body lightly worked within an overall dark atmosphere created by a network of vigorously drawn lines, Manet conveys a sense of the woman’s sudden physical exposure.