Manet

by Lesley Stevenson, Color Plates (Illustrator)

When Edouard Manet's Dejeuner sur l'herbe was exhibited in 1863 it created a stir of outrage. The combination in one painting of classical female nudes and clothed male figures was considered subversive of traditional artistic propriety. This image of radical innovation and rejection of artistic tradition has clung to Manet and he has been presented by many critics as the father of Impressionism and the grandfather of Modernism. Such a view had led to many misconceptions about Manet's place in the history of French art and has contributed to the view of him purely as a formal innovator. This book seeks to redress the balance. It will question the validity of assigning Manet a central, crucial role in French painting, in which he is set apart from his contemporaries as a revolutionary but will demonstrate instead that he should be relocated within a more traditional context. It shows that subject-matter, rather than being of little consequence for Manet's work, was in fact of primary importance to him. Manet provides a comprehensive biography and stimulating critique of his work. An informative introduction is illustrated with photographs and portraits of Manet, influential works by predecessors and contemporaries such as Renoir and Berthe Morisot, as well as preparatory sketches and watercolors by Manet. Ninety of Manet's finest paintings, both well-loved and familiar images such as Olympia and Music in the Tuileries and rarely reproduced but fascinating works, are reproduced in large-scale color plates. Each is accompanied by an explanatory text which elucidates the subject-matter and technique. Altogether Manet is a beautiful and informative study of this justly popular painter which will delight the specialist and general reader alike.

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995