Èduoard Manet, Impressionist?
Welcome to impressionism. To start we’re talking about… not impressionism? Let me explain.
There’s no solid consensus about who holds the title “Father of Modern Art.” Historians will argue a few names, one of which is Èduoard Manet. My argument on this topic would instead be that Manet is the father of Impressionism.
By that I mean he didn’t start his career as an Impressionist. That would have been hard considering the genre didn’t exist yet.
Some Context (About Manet)
Èdouard Manet was born in 1832, and died 1883. He was born upper-class, with well to do connections. It was expected for him to go into a career in law, but his poor performance and unhappiness in school led him to instead study painting.
His early work followed the popular styles of the time, but was always set apart by his particularly loose brush work. He was known to simplify details, and leave his paintings more unblended than others.
The most popular style at the time was Realism. Characterized by an interest in only showing day to day subjects, and paying careful attention to details. Showing the scene exactly as it is without any imaginative choices taken in the rendering.
Manet was perpetually scandalous and divisive. Throughout his entire career he was criticized for how “unfinished” his works looked. Along with his technical choices, his subject was fraught with scandal and scorn.
(This article is about impressionism. Maybe another time I’ll write about Victorine Meurent, the Olympia, and the effects of the scandal on her, Manet, and Paris. That topic is so wide, and fraught that I want to do it justice. So for another time.)
In any case, Manet is well acquainted with negativity. In one letter he wrote to a friend following the reaction to the Olympia, “they’re raining insults upon me.”
As he continued to paint, his work continued to become looser, and more.. well.. impressionist.
More On Impressionism
Impressionism as an artistic movement is characterized most succinctly by 3 things.
Visible brush strokes, although how large and visible varies from artist to artist.
Open composition, meaning the work seems to extend beyond the confines of the canvas.
Lastly, an emphasis on the accurate depiction of light.
The style is based on the practice of many impressionist to paint out of doors, and painting subjects exactly as they saw them. This differs from the strict and stringent way compositions were composed by their contemporary realist painters.
Realism initiated the change to every day subjects, impressionism is just another step in that direction.
For this reason it makes a lot of sense that Manet’s work, while controversial, overall still fits within the general framework of the realist style.
Why Manet Matters (to me)
My introduction to Manet (beyond that of the art history classroom) was to his flower bouquets.
In his later years he painted 20 different bouquets in glass vases. The paintings are looser than his earlier work, and looser still than some of his other work from that same time. They capture the glass vases in a way that captivated me.
In my early college days I was trying to decide what I wanted to do, and more specifically, what I wanted to study. I was on track to graduate with an art degree, focused on graphic design, and a minor in marketing. Then I took my first painting class.
Immediately I was infatuated with the medium. I had done water color in high school, but this was my first real encounter with oil paints. My grandma and great grandma both painted with oil, but I had never taken the time to teach myself the medium.
Manet’s flowers were a small part of the choice I made to study painting. To take the risk and devote my school time to learning a skill that would earn endless “but what will you do with that” conversations. But also something I love.
Manet wrote that “it is not enough to know your craft - you have to have feeling.” He painted this way, his work broke boundaries because he was not beholden to the contemporary techniques. He went on to say, “science is all very well, but for us imagination is worth far more.”
For the flower paintings, there was a practical reason for such simple subjects. He was still quite young, but his health was failing. Many believe these paintings, as well as others featuring more domestic subjects, were painted from his bed. Even with todays modern medicine, it is a pretty relatable feeling. I personally relate strongly to the feelings of a creative, unable to do what they truly with because of extenuating circumstances.
His work is an encouragement though. His most simple works reveals the innovation of his life’s work most strongly. It is these paintings that the impressionists following him referenced often.
He wrote to a friend during this period, right before he passed “I need to work to feel well.” It’s the truth behind all creatives I think. To be an artist is to be driven by something within you that you can’t explain.
There is a painting within me (and all artists) that nothing can stop from becoming material. I might be delayed, but my work won’t be ended by bad health, or even by sadness and depression.
Part of going to art school (one of the best parts) is meeting a lot of artists. Art begets art. Never have I made more than when I’m surrounded by other artists. Manet had many friends and collaborators. One of his greatest muses, and in my opinion, the inspiration behind his more impressionist style, is Berthe Morisot. She was often his model, but she painted prolifically,. You can always tell when the two were together by the art they produced.
All people are like this, the more artists you surround yourself with, the more art you create. I wish to pull these things from Manet’s life. He said “I am influenced by everybody. But every time I put my hands in my pockets I find someone else's fingers there.”
I have his fingers in my pocket. I reach for them.
Who is in your pocket?