Potential exhibit for study case over holiday break 

11 Items in this Learning Collection
Collection Object
Collection Object
Collection Object
Collection Object
Collection Object
Collection Object

Copyright
All Rights Reserved ()

Le Chat et les fleurs

Accession Number
1971/2.8

Title
Le Chat et les fleurs

Artist(s)
Édouard Manet

Artist Nationality
French (culture or style)

Object Creation Date
1869

Medium & Support
aquatint and etching on paper

Dimensions
12 3/4 in x 9 7/8 in (32.38 cm x 25.08 cm);19 1/4 in x 14 1/4 in (48.89 cm x 36.2 cm)

Credit Line
Museum Purchase

Subject matter
This etching was sold as a stand-alone print before its inclusion in the deluxe edition of an 1870 book called Les Chats, by Jules-François-Félix Husson, better known by his pen name of Champfleury. Manet uses a combination of etching and aquatint to create tonal variation. Scholars note that this print displays Japanese influences with the depiction of a shallow, flat space that enables other details to be accentuated, including the flowers in the composition, which are rendered with dynamic strokes.

Physical Description
On a wooden ledge in the foreground, a cat rubs up against a clawed pot holding flowers. The feline's coat is dark with the exception of a white strip running from its belly up to its chin.  An iron railing spans the width of the background. A second pot of flowers without clawed feet is visible behind the cat; some of its flowers appear to be growing through the lattice of the railing. 

Primary Object Classification
Print

Primary Object Type
intaglio print

Collection Area
Western

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.

Keywords
Felis domesticus (species)
balconies
cats
fences
flower vases
flowerpots
flowers
flowers (plant components)
furniture feet
illustration (process)
railings (balustrades)
wrought iron (iron alloy)

& Author Notes

Web Use Permitted