The Guitarist

Manet’s painting The Spanish Singer won popular and critical success when it was exhibited in Paris at the annual Salon of 1860. The artist capitalized on the recognition of the painting and produced an etched version of the composition the following year that proved equally successful. Manet’s subject was inspired by Jaime Bosch, a virtuoso guitarist who was wildly popular in Paris in the mid-19th century. The Catalonian guitarist took part in the musical soirées organized by Madame Manet, the artist’s mother, at her home in Paris.