Manet, Edouard. LES GITANOS (THE GYPSIES). Etching, 1862. Harris 18, 2d state, first printing. 12 1/2 x 9 1/4 inches (316 x 236 mm.), plate. Per Harris, from the first folio issued by the Societe des Aquafortistes, 1862, with the title "Les Gitanos" in the center beneath the print; at the left "Manet sculpt;" at the right "Imp. Delatre, rue des Feuillantines, Paris." Printed on Holland paper, with fleur de lis watermark, and with the embossed blindstamp of Cadart & Chevallier, 66 rue de Richelieu. (later printings have had the lettering removed. A very fine impression, in excellent condition. "Technically, this is by far the boldest etching which Manet ever executed in a finished form. All of the lines are deeply bitten, even though they vary in width. The hatching is open permitting a lively play of light throughout the surface. The linear vocabulary is largely restricted to straight lines of varying lengths and widths, but lines are not subordinated to areas very much. Contrast of stroke, therefore, is not so striking as in other prints, such as Philip IV. The effect of the etching is much more integrated than in the earlier prints even though linear activity is much more pronounced than in painterly etchings such as The Little Cavaliers." (Harris, p. 72).
