An African Woman, after Eva Gonzalès

c. 1888

An African Woman, after Eva Gonzalès, c. 1888. Henri Charles Guérard (French, 1846–1897), after Eva Gonzalès (French, 1849–1883). Zinc etching and aquatint; platemark: 26.8 x 28.6 cm (10 9/16 x 11 1/4 in.); sheet: 46.7 x 34.3 cm (18 3/8 x 13 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Bernard Derroitte in honor of Margaret and Peter Dobbins 2020.241 Henri Guérard was well-known during his lifetime for his close association with the Impressionist circle and for working as a master printer for artists such as Edouard Manet. This print reinterprets a painting by Eva Gonzalès, Manet’s only formal pupil and Guérard’s spouse until her untimely death in 1883. Featuring a bust portrait of an African woman wearing a scarf and headwrap, the original painting, now lost, was probably made as a tribute to Manet, who had depicted the same subject around 1862. Guérard often used recycled metal for his printing plates. At lower right, this print features the embossed mark of a zinc manufacturer, which was included on a hammered-out watering can that the artist used for printing.