Explore the Reception of this artwork, Self-Portrait with Palette (Manet).
The painting was often considered to be of lesser artistic value than Manet's other works. In 1926 the critic Étienne Moreau-Nélaton wrote: "This work, like the other efforts of the artist, are spoiled by a certain coldness. The artist's hand moves with too much fire, painting so freely here, that it is impossible for the painter to seriously focus upon himself as an object." On the other hand, Theodore Reff in 1982 emphasized the meaning of Manet's decision to approach self-portraiture, which he had never before attempted, at the high point of his career. The chosen clothes, in both case stylish suits, give the impression that Manet considered himself not only a successful artist but a successful figure in society: the paintings are a record of this success.
Wilson-Bareau proposes an alternate explanation for the origin of the self-portraits.  When the art historian and Manet biographer Adolphe Tabarant asked Manet's stepson Léon Leenhoff about the point in time at which Manet had been stricken with Syphilis, Leenhoff gave 1879 as an answer, which would explain why Manet, who had never before in his life painted a self-portrait, had painted two within that year. It would seem that with the reality of death right before his eyes, he felt a need to come to terms with himself.The nephew of the artist, Edouard Vibert (1867–1899) finished shortly before his death a series of copies of various Manet paintings for Madame Manet as mementos of the paintings that had had to be sold after the death of the artist. Around the turn of the 20th century a copy of the Self-Portrait with Palette was attested that was ascribed to Vibert.
Étienne Moreau-Nélaton