Biography and paintings by Edouard Manet

30/07/2021

Breakfast in the studio, Edouard Manet - description of the painting
The artist focused the color scheme of the painting on the harmonious combination of black, dark green, brown and gray colors. Yellow color plays an important role here - with bright color spots, Manet organizes the space of the picture and brings "liveliness" to the canvas, where dark colors prevail.
Looking at this picture, one can only admire how masterfully the painter is able to convey dynamics in a static plot. It seems that in another second, and all the heroes of the work will disperse about their business - Manet in a top hat will finish the drink in a cup, his wife will finish wiping the jug and put it on the table, and Leon will lower his eyes, finally coming out of his reverie.

30/07/2021

Painting "Balcony", Edouard Manet - description
The color scheme of the picture is based on the contrast of snow-white dresses with the entire environment. An attentive viewer will immediately see which of the characters the artist favored - the image of Bertha was painted with all care and love. However, to believe that the rest of the characters were not so carefully thought out would be mistaken: there are several sketches by F***y Klaus that testify to the painstaking work on all the details.
The finished work turned out to be very spiritual and lyrical. She was favorably received by the public and admitted to the exhibition at the Salon, which incredibly inspired her author and served as a creative impetus.

30/07/2021

Old musician, Edouard Manet - description of the painting
In the center of the plot is an old musician with a violin in his hands, a young girl with a child in her arms and two boys (one of them is the artist's son Leon) gathered around him, two adults are standing a little further away. History has preserved the name of the person from whom Manet wrote the colorful musician - this is the gypsy Jean Lograin, who really was a representative of this profession and even led the local orchestra, consisting of gypsies. And in the gentleman in a high top hat, the attentive viewer will recognize the character of another famous work of the artist - "The Absinthe Lover".
The canvas first found its buyer at the posthumous sale of Manet's paintings, changing many private collections, the work, passing the Austrian gallery, ended up in the National Museum in Washington, where it is still exhibited.

30/07/2021

26/07/2021

Flutist, Edouard Manet - description of the painting
The hero himself is also very remarkable. He is young, but his posture and gaze give him a serious attitude to playing music, and this gaze, looking at the viewer, but focused on the game, is recognized by every musician - the flutist is playing, and at this moment only he and his music exist.
Critics still argue about who this serious young man is: some believe that this is a real musician-orchestra player who specially posed for Manet, others find in the features of the young man's face a resemblance to the artist's son. But in one thing the researchers are unanimous - this is another work of the master, which can be safely ranked among the masterpieces.

23/07/2021

The canvas presumably depicts Leon Kulla-Lenhoff, the son of Manet and Suzanne Lenhoff, a Dutch-born, piano teacher, whom the artist met in 1849 and married her fourteen years later. The boy, who is about ten years old in the picture, is dressed in the costume of a page of the Spanish royal court. His figure stands out against a dark background, illuminated by direct, bright light that deprives the image of soft, deep shadows. Manet's pictorial language is characterized by a flat and bold use of color - an obvious tribute to the work of Velazquez, which the French painter reimagined in a peculiar way.

23/07/2021

The painting was painted in the summer of 1874 in Argenteuil, a small resort town located northeast of Paris on the banks of the Seine and chosen by residents of the capital who like to spend pleasant hours on the water. It was here, where the Impressionists also preferred to paint in the open air, that Manet worked alongside Renoir and Monet. The meeting with these artists largely determined the choice of the light, bright colors of the canvas and the typically impressionistic theme - the entertainment of the middle Parisian bourgeoisie.

23/07/2021

One of the most prominent painters in France, Edouard Manet, was born in 1832. The artist's father held a rather prestigious post of a judicial officer. Parents dreamed of seeing a son who would follow in his father's footsteps. However, the young man dreamed of artistic activity from an early age. Under the influence of his parents, young Manet makes an attempt to enter one of the Maritime schools. Manet does not pass the exam. After that, he sets off on a journey to the shores of South America. The journey takes place on the ship Le Havre and Guadeloupe, where young Manet serves as a cabin boy.
The artistry of this artist was not particularly recognized until the 1890s, when his painting was literally imposed on the Louvre Museum by his friends. After that, other museums and private collectors began to acquire Manet's paintings.