Musée d’Orsay · 1876
Portrait of Stéphane Mallarmé
Édouard Manet
Manet painted his close friend, the poet Stéphane Mallarmé, relaxed and informal with a cigar in hand — a portrait of genuine friendship rather than a formal commission, small in scale but warm in feeling.
Why it matters
Manet painted his close friend, the poet Stéphane Mallarmé, relaxed and informal with a cigar in hand — a portrait of genuine friendship rather than a formal commission, small in scale but warm in feeling.
Look closer
Notice how loosely and quickly it's painted compared with Manet's grander portraits — the casual brushwork matches the casual, easy pose of a friend simply visiting.
Mallarmé kept the portrait in his own home for the rest of his life — a sign of how much the friendship, not just the painting, meant to him.
Value context
ELYIO places this work in an indicative editorial context of €15–28 million.
The museum work is not for sale. This is ELYIO indicative context—not an appraisal, insurance value or offer.