Classicism & Manet

Classicism & Manet 10th Sept 2012

Question 1 • Q. What was the name of the accepted type of art in France at the time that Manet was starting out as a painter?

Question 1 • A. Classical art or Classicism

Question 2 • Q. Define Classicalism.

Question 2 • A. Classicism can be defined as the type of art promoted by, and displaying the values of the French ‘Academie des Beaux Art’. This type of art was concerned with idealised beauty. The subject matter was of historical, biblical and mythological scenes. These were painted with great drama and portrayed the characters (people) as objects of perfection (for the time) both physically and morally.

Question 2Delacroix – liberty leading the People 1830

Question 2 • Composition in Classical paintings was generally central with all the characters and activity happening in the middle of the painting. The brushwork was mostly smooth and highly polished. These paintings used a lot of contrast in their colour and lighting, contrasting blacks browns and greys with whites and creams.

Question 2 Oedipus & the Sphinx by Ingres Death of a Marat by David

Question 3 • Where did Manet train as an artist?

Question 3 • A. Manet trained as a painter through the official system of the E︠coles des Beaux Arts. He learned his craft in the studio of Thomas Couture. Following the traditions of the Academy, Manet was trained traditionally, spending his early years drawing from the plaster casts of antique statues in order to learn all art elements such as line and tone correctly. He then spent 6 years in Couture’s studio as an apprentice painter.

Question 4 • Q. Name this painting and the year that it was painted.

Question 4 • A. ‘Déjeuner sur l’Herbe’ 1863

Question 5 • Where was ‘Déjeuner’ exhibited?

Question 5 • A. It was exhibited in the ‘Salon des Refusés’.

Question 6 • What was the ‘Salon des Refusés’?

Question 6 • The ‘Salon des Refusés’ was an exhibition set up by Emperor Napoleon III to run alongside the annual official Salon exhibition. It only ran in 1863. this was due to the large amount of artists whose paintings were refused to the Salon that year. The artists complained to the Emperor (France’s ruler) and he went to see the paintings. As he couldn’t tell the difference between the paintings selected for the Salon exhibition and those rejected, he declared that all rejected painting be exhibited a second parallel exhibition in the Lourve – the ‘Salon des Refusés’.

Question 7 • Q. Now we know what the ‘Salon des Refusés’ was, can you explain what the official Salon was?

Question 7 • A. The Salon was the annual exhibition run by the ‘Academie des Beaux Arts’ The Academy was the ruling body of Fine Art in France at the time. Each year painters would put forward artworks for selection. If their paintings were selected, they would be exhibited in the ‘Salon’ exhibition in the Lourve. Only by being selected could you guarantee commissions for paintings for the following year. If selected often enough, a painter could become a member of the Academy and train new painters, thus keeping the traditions of the academy alive.

Question 7

Question 8 • Q. What was the reaction to Manet’s ‘Déjeuner’ by the Salon/public and why?

Question 8 • A. The Salon jury was outraged by this painting as it didn’t follow the rules of Classical art. Although nudes were common in paintings at the time, Manet decided to paint a contemporary scene instead of a historical/biblical/mythological scene. His subject matter was of artists and their models taking a lunch break from painting ‘en plein air’ in the forest of Fountainbleu on the outskirts of Paris. This was unacceptable to the Salon as his female model was shown exactly as she was; not improved on or made to look like what was considered perfect in art at the time.

Question 8 • Manet’s brushwork did not conform to the Academy’s standards either. Rather than smooth and polished, we can see evidence of Manet’s brush marks and some areas were not fully blended. • Manet also plays with the perspective. The woman in the background appears to be floating, so he isn’t following the rules of linear perspective. He does this on purpose as he wants her to be as important as the other parts of the painting but the Academy don’t understand this.

Question 8 A. The contemporary subject matter is full of symbols that the Academy and the public would easily understand. It is this issue in particular that makes the painting so controversial at the time. The overturned basket was a symbol of the loss of innocence, fruit such as peaches, figs and cherries were symbols of carnal activity and the empty oyster shells and suggest that these women may have two jobs, as a model, but also as a prostitute or the lovers of the artists. The small frog in the corner of the painting confirms this. The French word fro frog ‘grenouille’ was also a slang word for prostitute.

Question 8 • A. It was common at this time for artist’s models to be prostitutes also, as it was unacceptable for women of high classes to be alone with men. So often the only women available to paint would have been those who worked in bars or as prostitutes. Not all bar workers or models worked as prostitutes however.

Question 8 A. Many upper class men would have had a mistress at this time. It was seen as acceptable but never spoken about. What made Manet’s painting so shocking to the Paris socialites was that he was making public, something that had always been private. As many women would have accompanied their husbands to the exhibition, this painting would have caused great embarrassment to many of these men and brought the subject of adultery out in the open.

Question 9 • Who was the female model in ‘Déjeuner’?

Question 9 • Manet used the same model for both of the women in ‘Déjeuner’. Her name is Victorine Meurent. She was one of his favourite models. Manet like to paint her because she had a real face, not one that seemed fake or idealised like the ones in so many Classical paintings at that time. He said that in her face he found ‘truth’. • Meurent was also an artist in her own right.

Question 10 • Which other painting do we see Manet being influenced by in ‘Déjeuner’?

Question 10 • The composition and narrative of ‘Déjeuner’ is influenced by Titian’s ‘Concert Champêtre’. • Manet was very influenced by earlier art work and Classical art also. He wanted to show how these tradition ways of working could be updated for the modern world.

Question 10

Question 10 • Manet wanted to change the institution of the academy, not get rid of it. He wanted to change it from the inside out, that’s why he never stopped submitting paintings to the salon for selecting. • It really annoyed him that he was rejected so many times.

Classicism & Manet