Édouard Manet first achieved critical success in 1861 when he exhibited the painting "The Spanish Singer" at his inaugural Salon exhibition in Paris. The subject reflected the growing interest in France for Spanish art and also drew on Manet’s close study of the work of Spanish masters Diego Velázquez and Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes. Not only was his painting awarded an honorable mention but it also attracted favorable attention from fellow artists. In order to gain a wider audience for his work, and inspired by the recent revival of interest in etching, Manet translated this painting into a print called "The Guitar Player". He experimented with shading the background and altering his signature, and produced several versions, or states, of this print. It was included in his first published series of etchings in 1862 and went on to be issued numerous times throughout the 19th century, printed in various ink colors and on diverse types of paper.