Etched in Memory

Abstract Chapter 4 concludes the discussion of etching and writing in the brothers’ collaborative works with an exploration of the afterlife of Jules’s etchings and their role in Edmond’s second act as a solo author. The chapter contrasts two different points in the brothers’ career: their relationship with lithographer Gavarni as emerging writers in the 1850s and Edmond’s negotiation of Jules’s posthumous legacy after 1870. Etching played a significant role in the construction of the Goncourts’ creative identity at both moments. The tension between emulation and competition in La Lorette, the brothers’ early response to Gavarni’s work, was later echoed by Edmond’s conflicted approach to Jules’s legacy after his death. The second half of the chapter examines a range of literary, curatorial, and editorial decisions made by Edmond, as well as portraits and writings by Félix Bracquemond and Philippe Burty, key figures in the etching revival. Each testifies to Edmond’s complex negotiation of grief and guilt, where his desire to commemorate his brother as an artist was met with guilt over continuing his own career as an author.