Lecture 42: Manet and Monet—The Birth of Impressionism

Manet and Monet—The Birth of Impressionism .............................

Lecture 42

It has long been an art-historical commonplace that modern art begins

with Manet. I see no reason to contradict that statement, although it

oversimpli¿ es a very complex man and complex artist by making him

seem to be an artist who breaks sharply with the past and consciously

sets out to be a “Modern” artist.

I

n this lecture, we look at two quite famous artists: Manet, who has been

seen as the wellspring of Modernism, and Monet, whose Impression:

Sunrise gave the name to the well-known style Impressionism.

We’ll examine elements in their paintings that point to a break with art

of the past, as well as the contemporary subject matter that each artist

found compelling.

The French Salon was the annual of¿ cial art exhibition sponsored by the

Academy, but it was also open to artists who were not members of the

Academy. In Manet’s day, the jury was composed of members of the French

Institute, whose conservative taste was mostly unchallenged; thus, younger

artists of independence and originality were often excluded from this

opportunity to be seen by a wide public.

Manet was 31 when he exhibited the masterpiece that has established his

place in art history, Luncheon on the Grass (1863). One would be hard

pressed to recall a similar picnic, either in art or in real life. We have four

¿ gures: two well-dressed Parisian gentlemen and two women, one nude and

one in a negligee who wades in a pond or brook behind them. The picnic

basket is at the left; its partly spilled contents include a brioche, cherries

and ¿ gs, a baguette, and a silver À ask. The basket resides among the naked

woman’s discarded clothes, and together, they constitute a lovely array

of color, a beautifully painted still life within the larger picture. This was

a scandalous painting because the people were clearly real Parisians in a

Parisian park setting, but they were behaving incorrectly, although there is

not the slightest overtly sexual suggestion in their actions or looks. Indeed,