Portrait of Gilbert-Marcellin Desboutin c. 1875

Editor: Here we have Manet's "Portrait of Gilbert-Marcellin Desboutin," a watercolor piece. It feels so immediate, almost like a fleeting impression. What strikes you most about it? Curator: Well, isn't it evocative? The way Manet captures Desboutin, swirls of personality emerging from the wash... I see a man wrestling with his own brilliance, a bit haunted perhaps. Tell me, do you feel the urgency in the brushstrokes, that almost desperate need to capture something before it vanishes? Editor: Absolutely, it’s like he’s trying to catch smoke. I'm left wondering what Desboutin was really like. Curator: Exactly! It's more than just a likeness, it's a whisper of a soul on paper. I'll be pondering this for days.