The Shadow that Lies Floating on the Floor. Illustration to The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe

Art Historical Context

Step into the haunting world of Edgar Allan Poe's *The Raven* with Édouard Manet's evocative illustration *The Shadow that Lies Floating on the Floor*, created in 1875. This transfer lithograph captures the poem's gothic melancholy, produced as part of a luxurious French edition translated by poet Stéphane Mallarmé. Manet, a pioneer of Impressionism renowned for his bold brushwork and modern subjects, ventured into printmaking here, blending his painterly touch with Poe's macabre narrative to visualize an eerie, disembodied shadow drifting across a dimly lit interior—perhaps evoking the narrator's tormented grief. Printed on fine Hollande laid paper in a single state, this 21⅝ × 13¾-inch sheet exemplifies transfer lithography, a technique where Manet drew on special paper that was then offset onto the lithographic stone. This allowed for rich tonal gradations and fluid lines mimicking oil painting, showcasing his innovative graphic style amid the 1870s Parisian avant-garde. Subtle details like shadowed chairs ground the supernatural in everyday domesticity, heightening the uncanny atmosphere. Acquired through the Harris Brisbane Dick Fund in 1924 and housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, this rare print bridges 19th-century literature, Symbolist poetry, and emerging modernism, inviting visitors to ponder the interplay of light, shadow, and the psyche.

About the Artist

Edouard Manet|Edgar Allan Poe|Stéphane Mallarmé · 1832–1883

Édouard Manet (1832-1883) was a French painter who played a pivotal role in the transition from Realism to Impressionism, often called the 'Father of Modern Art.' Born into a wealthy Parisian family, Manet defied his father's wishes for a legal career to pursue painting, studying under academic artist Thomas Couture. His revolutionary works 'Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe' and 'Olympia' (both 1863) scand...