EDOUARD MANET (1832-1883) Le Polichinelle 1874. - Lot 207

EDOUARD MANET (1832-1883) Le Polichinelle 1874. Lithograph. 312 x 420 [358 x 540]. Slightly yellowed, spotted and visible tear. Color printing. Printer Lemercier &Cie (Paris, founded 1828) Note: This is the only color print by Manet. The model was a friend of his, the painter Edmond André, who also appears in this costume in the painting entitled Bal masqué à l'Opéra (Washington, National Gallery of Art), rejected by the Salon jury. Manet had launched a competition among poets to write two verses to be inscribed beneath the image of his Polichinelle. He chose the alexandrines of Théodore de Banville (1823-1891), who was considered one of the most eminent poets of his time. In 1876, 8,000 copies of the lithograph were withdrawn to be offered as a bonus to subscribers to the newspaper Le Temps. The censors thought they recognized a caricature of General Mac-Mahon, and forbade its distribution." (Source: INHA). Of the 8,000 proofs, 1,500 were actually destroyed, according to Rançon, Lemercier's nephew and driver at the print run.