Although not as well known as so many of Manet's other works, this one is, I think, a perfect example of what I find so striking about Manet's style of impressionism: it captures a tiny moment in the lives of people now long gone, but very much alive when it was captured; in that regard it's akin to photography, I suppose.
But so very important is how Manet orients his subjects.
The man is almost off the canvas and yet seems to be contemplating something; perhaps the woman, perhaps his life perhaps, well, who knows? The woman is, however, like so many of Manet's great pieces, staring right at if not through the viewer, the passerby, the person now standing in a humidity-controlled, dimly lit room surrounded by security cameras with the soft hum of voices chit-chatting about other works scattered around the room. She's very much alive and in the moment, her moment and ours, always alive. Amazing.
Although not as well known as so many of Manet's other works, this one is, I think, a perfect example of what I find so striking about Manet's style of impressionism: it captures a tiny moment in the lives of people now long gone, but very much alive when it was captured; in that regard it's akin to photography, I suppose.
But so very important is how Manet orients his subjects.
The man is almost off the canvas and yet seems to be contemplating something; perhaps the woman, perhaps his life perhaps, well, who knows? The woman is, however, like so many of Manet's great pieces, staring right at if not through the viewer, the passerby, the person now standing in a humidity-controlled, dimly lit room surrounded by security cameras with the soft hum of voices chit-chatting about other works scattered around the room. She's very much alive and in the moment, her moment and ours, always alive. Amazing.
But so very important is how Manet orients his subjects.
The man is almost off the canvas and yet seems to be contemplating something; perhaps the woman, perhaps his life perhaps, well, who knows? The woman is, however, like so many of Manet's great pieces, staring right at if not through the viewer, the passerby, the person now standing in a humidity-controlled, dimly lit room surrounded by security cameras with the soft hum of voices chit-chatting about other works scattered around the room. She's very much alive and in the moment, her moment and ours, always alive. Amazing.
 |
| 1870 |
But so very important is how Manet orients his subjects.
The man is almost off the canvas and yet seems to be contemplating something; perhaps the woman, perhaps his life perhaps, well, who knows? The woman is, however, like so many of Manet's great pieces, staring right at if not through the viewer, the passerby, the person now standing in a humidity-controlled, dimly lit room surrounded by security cameras with the soft hum of voices chit-chatting about other works scattered around the room. She's very much alive and in the moment, her moment and ours, always alive. Amazing.
