Manet, Édouard (1832-1883)
La Régalade (Boy with Pitcher)
1862–1872
Oil on canvas, 61.8 × 54.3 cm
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago
“X-radiographs have revealed that this painting is a fragment of Les Gitanes, a large portrait of a gypsy family exhibited by Édouard Manet in 1863 and 1867. Apparently dissatisfied with his complex imitation of Spanish Baroque art, he cut the original painting into three sections and reconceived this portion as an individual work of art. The artist painted out part of the head of a female gypsy, replaced blue sky with a dark brown ground, and extensively reworked the figure of the boy. He then renamed the painting La Régalade, which means to pour liquid from a bottle down the throat without touching the lips.” (AIC)