Looking at a Manet painting, from 'Sketches from the Salon,' published in Le Charivari, June 19, 1865
Original title: Looking at a Manet painting, from 'Sketches from the Salon,' published in Le Charivari, June 19, 1865
kurzbeschreibung
In 1865, visitors to the Paris Salon crowd in front of Édouard Manet's 'Olympia' – Honoré Daumier captured this moment in a lithograph. The black-and-white print on newsprint comes from his series 'Sketches from the Salon'.
Description
A gentleman in a top hat fixes his gaze on the painting of a reclining woman known as Olympia. Beside him stands a woman in a long dark dress, her eyes also on the canvas; to the right, a young man with a hat looks on. Suggested columns and a door frame the interior. The figures line up, all eyes directed at the painting, while French text lines run along the bottom edge.
Context
For the satirical journal Le Charivari, Daumier drew regularly about the annual Paris Salons. In 1865, the scandal surrounding Manet's 'Olympia' dominated the event, which was seen as provocative and outrageous. The artist responded to the public uproar by wryly recording the audience's reactions. His series 'Sketches from the Salon' thus accompanied the art world and its public with a mocking eye.
Impact
The clear layout and the calm, focused gaze of the figures on the painting give the viewing situation an ironic undertone. Daumier's precise linework gives each individual a distinct expression, capturing the absurdity of the art debate of the time.
Technique
The print was produced as a lithograph on newsprint – a sign of its role as a mass medium. According to Delteil's catalogue raisonné, this is the second of two states. The process allowed for fine lines and shading characteristic of Daumier's satirical style.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)