Studio of the artist (and sold: Hôtel Drouot, Paris, February 4-5, 1884, lot 116)
M. de la Narde (acquired at the above sale)
Eugène Manet
Julie Manet-Rouart
Collection Rouart, Paris
James Goodman Gallery, New York
Galerie Nichido, Tokyo 

Théodore Duret, Histoire d'Edouard Manet et de son oeuvre, Paris, 1902, no. 78
Etienne Moreau-Nelaton, Manet Raconté par Lui-mème, Paris, 1926, no. 420
Paul Jamot, Georges Wildenstein & Marie-Louise Bataille, Manet, Paris, 1932, no. 471
Adolphe Tabarant, Manet et ses oeuvres, Paris, 1947, no. 474, illustrated p. 338
Merete Bodelson, "Early Impressionists Sales, 1874-1894", Burlington Magazine, June 1968, no. 116, illustrated p. 343
Denis Rouart & Sandra Orienti, Tout l'oeuvre peint d'Edouard Manet, Paris, 1970, no. 261
Denis Rouart & Daniel Wildenstein, Edouard Manet Catalogue Raisonné, Geneva, 1975, vol. II, no. 32, illustrated p. 15

Work is in very good condition. Canvas is not lined. Scattered small stains in background. Due to weave of canvas, application of pastel is visibly uneven and there are some tiny pindots of loss in the areas of thickest application. Otherwise fine, colors are bright and fresh.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Jeune homme à barbe blonde is a work executed with great spontaneity as well as intimacy. The spirited technique in the application of the pastel contributes to the great appeal of the work. As in many of Manet's greatest works, the artist blurs the distinctions between the ilꦛlusionistic purposes of his﷽ technique and the pure visual delight of medium manipulated for the pleasure of the eye.

While the subject of the present work is not known, his intense gaze and energetic bearing speak to the artist's talents at conveying much from a sparing use of the his medium.  George Moore, an Irish critic and writer who Manet depicted in pastel in 1879, described the experience of sitting for Manet: "Strictly speaking he had no method; painting with him was pure instinct.  Painting was one of the ways his nature manifested itself in everything that concerned him - in his large plain studio, full of light as a conservatory; in his simple scrupulous clothes, and yet with a touch of the dandy about them. ...never was an artist's inner nature in more direct conformity with his work" (George Moore in a letter of 1898, reprinted in T.A. Gronberg, ed., Manet, A Retrospective (exhibition catalogue), New York, 1988, p. 252).