ÉDOUARD MANET | Jeune fille au col cassé, de profil

Private Collection
Maurice Gobin, Paris (acquired by 1932)
Sale: Libert, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, June 11, 1980, lot 7
Juan Alvarez de Toledo, Paris
Private Collection, Japan
Private Collection, United States
Steve Banks Fine Arts, San Francisco
Acquired from the above on December 12, 2002

Paris, Galerie André Seligmann, Pastels français du XVIIe siècle à nos jours, 1933, no. 86, illustrated in the catalogue

Paul Jamot & Georges Wildenstein, Manet, Paris, 1932, vol. I, no. 439; vol. II, no. 214, illustrated p. 117
Adolphe Tabarant, Manet et ses oeuvres, Paris, 1947, no. 480, illustrated p. 618
Phoebe Pool & Sandra Orienti, The Complete Paintings of Manet, London, 1967, no. 292A, illustrated p. 112
Denis Rouart & Sandra Orienti, Tout l'oeuvre peint d'Édouard Manet, Paris, 1970, no. 292A, illustrated p. 111
Denis Rouart & Daniel Wildenstein, Édouard Manet, Catalogue raisonné, Pastels, aquarelles et dessins, vol. II, Lausanne & Paris, 1975, no. 44, illustrated p. 19

This work is in very good condition. The canvas is unlined. The medium is well-preserved and the colors are bright. There is some scattered minor staining commensurate with age. Under UV light: no signs of retouching are apparent.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Manet only began using pastels late in his life, but he soon mastered the subtleties of the medium. Completing his first pastel in 1874, Manet went on to execute eighty-nine pastels, and more than seventy of these are portraits of women. With the sitter’s soft yet thoughtful expression and delicate features, Jeune fille au col cassé, de profil exemplifies the breezy elegance and ephemeral atmosphere Manet creates in his pastel portraits.

The spirited technique in the application of the pastel contributes to the air of spontaneity and the intimacy of the present work. Commenting on the artist’s skill, Françoise Cachin wrote: “Between 1879 and 1882, Manet did a series of dazzling portraits of women, about which Rewald has noted that while ‘Manet had to fight frequently against a dangerous tendency of faire folie, in his pastels he did not oppose this tendency.’ Hence his great success with his models. Pastels allowed him a freshness, a gay palette, a powdery texture more flattering to the face” (Françoise Cachin, Manet 1832-1883 (exhibition catalogue), Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais, Paris & The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1983, p. 493).

“Pastel was for him a comparatively easy exercise, a diversion,” explained Théodore Duret, “and gained him the company of the engaging women who came to pose for him” (quoted in ibid., p. 429). Duret noted that this straightforward medium offered Manet a break from the labors of oil paint, especially as he grew weary during the final months of his life. 

As Duret points out, Manet continued to seek out the company of beautiful women, even as his health failed him and despite the ever-abiding presence of his wife Suzanne. Joseph de Nittis provided the following description of Mme Manet's tolerance for her husband's indiscretions: “One day, [Manet] was following some pretty girl, slender and coquettish. His wife suddenly came up to him, saying, with her merry laugh, 'This time, I caught you.' 'There,' he said, "That's funny! I thought it was you.' Now Mme Manet, a bit on the heavy side, a placid Dutchwoman, was no frail Parisienne. She told the story herself, with her smiling good humor” (quoted in ibid., p. 437).

Fig 1. Édouard Manet, Jeune fille en déshabillé, 1882, pastel on paper, sold: Sotheby’s London, February, 8 2011, lot 17 for $2,588,467