Édouard Manet

The Cats (Les Chats)

Maker

Édouard Manet (French, 1832-1883)

Title

The Cats (Les Chats)
Les Chats

Year

1868-1869 (probably printed later)

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

etching

Supports

Dimensions

Image/plate: 18 x 22.3 cm (7 1/16 x 8 3/4 inches)

Identification

State

only state

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Museum Works of Art Fund

Object Number

58.031

Type

Exhibition History

Altered States
Etching in Late 19th-Century Paris
Jun 30, 2017 – Dec 03, 2017

Label copy

Manet used the plate for this print the same way he would have used a page in one of his many sketchbooks: to record images to incorporate into his paintings and drawings. Cats-especially his own-were among Manet’s favorite subjects to sketch, and this print may well have been produced as a private exercise for his own enjoyment. The composition here is unusual, as Manet’s prints often had a finished appearance. This aesthetic may help explain why only a few impressions were made of the plate during the artist’s lifetime, with formal editions printed only after his death.

Japonisme
The Influence of Japanese Art on the West
Nov 04, 1994 – Jan 22, 1995

Image use

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Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Édouard Manet (French, 1832-1883)
The Cats (Les Chats); Les Chats, 1868-1869 (probably printed later)
Etching and aquatint on cream-colored, moderately textured laid paper
Image/plate: 18 x 22.3 cm (7 1/16 x 8 3/4 inches)
Museum Works of Art Fund 58.031

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