Caption:
Head of Jean-Baptiste Faure (1830-1914). Artist: Édouard Manet (French, Paris 1832-1883 Paris). Dimensions: 18 1/8 x 14 7/8 in. (46 x 37.8 cm). Date: 1882-83.
Painted in the winter of 1882-83, this study of the baritone Jean-Baptiste Faure was one of three executed in preparation for a portrait left unfinished when Manet died a few months later. Earlier, Manet had painted a full-length portrait of the singer in the role of Hamlet (Folkwang Museum, Essen), which drew adverse criticism when it was shown in the Salon of 1877; Faure, who owned many paintings by Manet, refused to accept it.