What do you think?
Rate this book
Discover Manet & Eva Gonzales
The extraordinary story behind Manet’s portrait of his only pupil Eva Gonzalès, placed within the broader context of women painters of the period
Edouard Manet (1832–1883) only ever had one formal pupil, Eva Gonzalès (1849–1883). The daughter of a prominent writer, she entered Manet’s studio aged 19. He portrayed her the year they met and exhibited the ambitious full-length portrait at the Paris Salon of 1870, at which Gonzalès also displayed her own work, for the first time, to positive reviews.
The first in a new series of Discover titles, in which a single work of art in the National Gallery’s collection is reconsidered from a fresh perspective, this book reveals the extraordinary story behind Manet’s portrait by examining it in the context of women’s artistic practice in nineteenth-century Paris, Gonzalès’s development as a professional painter, and Manet’s career in 1870.
Combining new art historical research with engaging essays on women artists and their representation in visual culture, Discover Manet & Eva Gonzalès provides a richly illustrated, in-depth study of Manet’s portrait and offers a groundbreaking viewpoint on both artists.
Published by National Gallery Global/Distributed by Yale University Press
Exhibition Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin
June 1–September 18, 2022
The National Gallery, London
October 21, 2022–January 15, 2023
Edouard Manet (1832–1883) only ever had one formal pupil, Eva Gonzalès (1849–1883). The daughter of a prominent writer, she entered Manet’s studio aged 19. He portrayed her the year they met and exhibited the ambitious full-length portrait at the Paris Salon of 1870, at which Gonzalès also displayed her own work, for the first time, to positive reviews.
The first in a new series of Discover titles, in which a single work of art in the National Gallery’s collection is reconsidered from a fresh perspective, this book reveals the extraordinary story behind Manet’s portrait by examining it in the context of women’s artistic practice in nineteenth-century Paris, Gonzalès’s development as a professional painter, and Manet’s career in 1870.
Combining new art historical research with engaging essays on women artists and their representation in visual culture, Discover Manet & Eva Gonzalès provides a richly illustrated, in-depth study of Manet’s portrait and offers a groundbreaking viewpoint on both artists.
Published by National Gallery Global/Distributed by Yale University Press
Exhibition Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin
June 1–September 18, 2022
The National Gallery, London
October 21, 2022–January 15, 2023
- GenresArt
120 pages, Paperback
Published November 29, 2022
1 person is currently reading
4 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 30, 2025
3.5 stars. I read the copy at the National Library of Scotland.
There are a few points cited in the essays therein that I may refute but, overall, one encounters a richer glimpse into Eva Gonzalès's life and practice (though much remains tragically unknown). One step at a time. Brilliant snippets of an 1880 letter included, which Manet covered with portraits and the design of a morning glory. Definitely going to return to that in the thesis.
A complaint: there is barely any discussion of Jeanne (Eva's sister and fellow artist) yet persistent framing of Eva's art foremost in terms of her mentor, Édouard Manet. Let's seek a better balance here, fellow art historians.
A beneficial resource as I draft an Impressionist paper for a symposium in St Andrews. <3
There are a few points cited in the essays therein that I may refute but, overall, one encounters a richer glimpse into Eva Gonzalès's life and practice (though much remains tragically unknown). One step at a time. Brilliant snippets of an 1880 letter included, which Manet covered with portraits and the design of a morning glory. Definitely going to return to that in the thesis.
A complaint: there is barely any discussion of Jeanne (Eva's sister and fellow artist) yet persistent framing of Eva's art foremost in terms of her mentor, Édouard Manet. Let's seek a better balance here, fellow art historians.
A beneficial resource as I draft an Impressionist paper for a symposium in St Andrews. <3
December 11, 2024
👏 EVA 👏 GONZALÈS 👏 DESERVED 👏 BETTER 👏
4 stars for the excellent scholarship and high-quality art reproductions in this weirdly scaled-down version of an exhibition catalogue, -1 star for not really giving me any information about Eva Gonzalès at all, and still, always and forever, putting Manet’s — the man’s — name first. I got this catalogue because I wanted to know more about Eva, and instead I just got a lot of musings on the place of women in art schools in France in the mid-19th-century and the tradition of female artists painting themselves painting. Why are there no great women artists, etc etc. we’ve heard all this before!
Eva deserves to be spoken of in the same breath as Mary Cassatt and Berthe Morisot — there may be no catalog raisonne or book just about /her/ just yet, but maybe that’s now my destiny? tbd!
4 stars for the excellent scholarship and high-quality art reproductions in this weirdly scaled-down version of an exhibition catalogue, -1 star for not really giving me any information about Eva Gonzalès at all, and still, always and forever, putting Manet’s — the man’s — name first. I got this catalogue because I wanted to know more about Eva, and instead I just got a lot of musings on the place of women in art schools in France in the mid-19th-century and the tradition of female artists painting themselves painting. Why are there no great women artists, etc etc. we’ve heard all this before!
Eva deserves to be spoken of in the same breath as Mary Cassatt and Berthe Morisot — there may be no catalog raisonne or book just about /her/ just yet, but maybe that’s now my destiny? tbd!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews