Le Chat et les fleurs
Édouard Manet
Description
Subject Matter:
This etching was sold as a stand-alone print before its inclusion in the deluxe edition of an 1870 book called Les Chats, by Jules-François-Félix Husson, better known by his pen name of Champfleury. Manet uses a combination of etching and aquatint to create tonal variation. Scholars note that this print displays Japanese influences with the depiction of a shallow, flat space that enables other details to be accentuated, including the flowers in the composition, which are rendered with dynamic strokes.
Physical Description:
On a wooden ledge in the foreground, a cat rubs up against a clawed pot holding flowers. The feline's coat is dark with the exception of a white strip running from its belly up to its chin. An iron railing spans the width of the background. A second pot of flowers without clawed feet is visible behind the cat; some of its flowers appear to be growing through the lattice of the railing.
Usage Rights:
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