Édouard Manet ( 1832 -1883) The son of a senior official in the Department of Justice, Manet was a
well known figure in social circles in Paris. He trained with the
artist Thomas Couture for six years during the 1850’s. As an apprentice
painter, the young Manet spent much time in the Louvre copying the old
masters, he was especially impressed by Spanish artist Velásquez.
As a young painter during the 1860’s, Manets ambition was to exhibit
in the Salon. ( This was the main outlet to exhibit paintings in Paris).
The Academy who selected paintings for exhibition were not impressed by
Manet’s work. In 1863 an opportunity came Manets way – A “Salon des
Refuses” was established to exhibit work that was not selected by the
Academy. Manet exhibited a large painting called ‘Le Dejeuner sur l’
Herb’ (Luncheon on the Grass) which shocked audiences and instantly
caused Manet a lot of negative attention.
Edouard Manet; Déjeuner sur l’Herb ( Luncheon on the Grass) 1863
In ‘Dejeuner sur l’Herb’ a nude woman sits on the ground beside two
fully clothed men. In the background another woman is dressed only in
her undergarments; she is bathing herself in a river. Manet was
criticised on both moral and artistic grounds for displaying a nude
figure in such a setting and for his loose quick painting style.This short video discusses the use of light and brushwork in ‘Déjeuner sur l’Herb’.
https://youtu.be/6T_i5HAhiqQ
Olympia (1965); When this painting was exhibited it caused even more
outrage than Déjeuner sur L’Herb. A nude woman looks directly out at us
from her bed. “ Olympia” was known at that time in Paris as a name
typical of a prostitute. Not only was the painting scorned on moral
grounds but Manet’s painting technique was highly criticised. The
brushwork was too loose, the nude figure was too pale and washed out
looking, the painting style was too flat for the critics.
Edouard Manet; Olympia 1865
Titian; Venus of Urbino 1538
Manet had based Olympia on a painting by the Renaissance artist
Titian; “The Venus of Urbino”. Whereas the nude figure in Titians work
was accepted as a beautiful godess, Olympia in contrast, caused
consternation amongst the Paris audiences and was rejected as shocking
and brazen.It is believed that Manet was greatly influenced by Photography and
by Japanese prints when painting ‘Olympia’. The nude figure is very
pale, there is hardly any shadows on her. This is similar in effect to a
photograph with strong or over exposure to light. ‘Olympia’ is painted
very flatly; there is hardly no modelling on her body and Manet paints
with black outlines around the figure. This is similar in style to
Japanese prints.
Japanese Print and Olympia detail
Detail
of Olympia ; Brushwork. Manet was heavily criticised for his loose
gestural brushstrokes – here you can see how quick and freely he painted
the pattern on the drape
In 1882 Manet painted “ A Bar at the Folies- Bergére”. In contrast to
“Dejeuner sur l’ Herb” and “Olympia” ; it was accepted by the Paris
Salon and exhibited there to great acclaim from critics and audiences.
It was Manet’s last great painting before his death in 1883. A young
barmaid is standing behind the bar gazing out. Behind her is a large
mirror that reflects the scene before the barmaid which she looks out
upon.
Edouard Manet, A Bar at the Folies-Bergère 1882
This painting is an intricate web of viewpoints.The barmaid gazes out
– not at us – but instead stares into space. It is impossible to tell
what she is thinking. In the mirror behind her we can see her reflection
and a man is standing directly infront of her yet Manet chooses only to
paint this man in the reflection not in reality. He should be standing
in the front of the painting with his back to us. Manet places the
reflection of the barmaid off-centre, it should be directly behind her
in the mirror. Manet plays tricks with our perceptions. Its really a
painting about seeing and looking. The scene that the barmaid is gazing
out upon is one of hundreds of people who are reflected in the mirror
behind her. Manet paints this crowd very loosely, capturing just
fleeting impressions of the people as they disappear in and out of smoke
and lights. “A Bar at the Folies Bergére is considered to be one of the
masterpieces of the 19th Century.
Foreground detail ;A Bar at the Folies Bergére
It is a complex composition yet Manet still uses the traditional
foreground, middle ground and background. In the foreground, along with
the barmaid there is a still life of bottles, flowers and a bowl of
oranges. This still life is painted in a more defined way than the rest
of the painting. These objects appear in-focus with light glinting off
the top of the shapes.In the middle ground of the painting Manet paints the refections of the
barmaid and the male customer together with the refections of the
bottles. This middle ground is painted far more loosely than the
foreground, making it appear to receed from the foreground. Finally in
the background Manet paints very loosely, describing people in just a
few quick brushstokes. We can make out very little detail on these
people. The crowd appear out of focus and receeds into the distance.
Manet uses the traditional composition of fore, middle and back grounds
to achieve perspective.
Middle ground detail; A Bar at the Folies BergéreBackground detail; A bar at the Folies Bergére
