Jeanne, from "Gazette des Beaux-Arts" 1882

Edouard Manet created this print, "Jeanne", using etching, a process with a fascinating history tied to the rise of industrial capitalism. The image is made by coating a metal plate with wax, scratching an image into the wax, and then immersing the plate in acid. The acid bites into the exposed metal, creating lines that hold ink. This is then printed onto paper. The inherent qualities of this method – the fine, precise lines and the contrast between light and shadow – lend themselves well to Manet's aesthetic, emphasizing the textures and patterns of Jeanne's clothing and surroundings. Etching, unlike painting, allowed for the reproduction of images. This democratization of art coincided with the growth of the print media, and a rising middle class hungry for accessible culture. While Manet was celebrated as a fine artist, his embrace of printmaking blurred the lines between high art and the industrial production of images. By attending to both the material process and the social context of this print, we can more fully understand its place in art history, and the changing world in which it was made.