Once Upon a Midnight Dreary. Illustration to The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe

Art Historical Context

Édouard Manet's *Once Upon a Midnight Dre* is a captivating lithograph from 1875, created as an illustration for Stéphane Mallarmé's French of Edgar Allan Poe's iconic poem *The Raven*. Drawing from the poem's haunting opening line—"Once upon midnight dreary"—this work captures the eerie, introspective mood of Poe's narrative. Manet, a pivotal figure in the transition to Impressionism, collaborated with the Symbolist poet Mallarmé, blending visual art with literature during Paris's vibrant fin-de-siècle cultural scene. Printed on laid paper, the lithograph measures 13 3/4 x 21 1/16 inches and showcases Manet's mastery of the medium. Lithography allowed him to achieve fluid, expressive lines and subtle tonal gradations, evoking the poem's psychological tension. The composition highlights profiles of men, likely alluding to the tormented narrator, rendered with stark contrasts that heighten the gothic atmosphere. Acquired through the Harris Brisbane Dick Fund in 1924, this print from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department exemplifies how 19th-century artists bridged Romantic literature and modern printmaking. It invites visitors to ponder Poe's enduring influence on art and imagination, where shadow and silhouette whisper tales of loss and madness.

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...