Smithsonian Magazine · People & society

Manet Drawing Rediscovered, Linked to 'The Old Musician'

A red-chalk sketch, recently found in a private Italian collection, has been attributed to French modernist Édouard Manet and is believed to be a study for his 1862 painting, 'The Old Musician.'

Manet, known for depicting everyday life, created 'The Old Musician' featuring an aging violinist and a diverse group of marginalized individuals. The painting, displayed at the National Gallery of Art, is thought to have been inspired by people Manet encountered near his Paris studio.

The newly identified drawing, spotted by art historian Francesco Baccanelli, depicts a crouching child and shares similarities with figures in 'The Old Musician' and Manet's 'Le Déjeuner sur l’Herbe.'

Art curator Emily Beeny, a Manet expert, expressed excitement about the discovery, noting an immediate sense of recognition and the rarity of finding an unpublished Manet drawing.

Analysis of the sketch reveals stylistic elements characteristic of Manet, such as light-and-shadow transitions and distinctive finger details. Ultraviolet examination also uncovered evidence of the artist's studio stamp.

However, the drawing includes a 'squaring' technique, typically indicating an intention to transfer the image to canvas, yet the depicted crouching child does not appear in any known Manet painting.

Researchers speculate the sketch might have been intended for Manet's unfinished 'Finding of Moses' or that the model could have been a young boy named Alexandre who assisted the artist. A scholarly review of the drawing is forthcoming in the Burlington Magazine.

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