Manet 1832 - 1883Manet Hayatı MANET'İN RESİMLERİ Manet English Biography Manet Painting
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Edouard Manet - Biography
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Grand Hotel de Paris, Puerta del Sol, Madrid, Sunday
morning (3 September 1865)
TO HENRI FANTIN-LATOUR
How I miss you here and how happy it would have made you to see Velasquez
who all by himself makes the journey worthwhile; the artists of all the
other schools around him in the museum at Madrid, who are extremely well
representyed, all look like shams. He is the supreme artist; he did not
surprise me, he enchanted me. The full-length portrait we have in the
Louvre is not from his hand. Only the Infanta is indisputable. There is
a huge painting here, full of little figures like those in the Louvre
picture called the Cavaliers, but with figures of women as well as men,
perhaps of higher quality and above all completely unrestored. The
landscape in the background is by a pupil of Velasquez.
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The most extraordinary piece in this splendid oeuvre and possibly the most extraordinary piece of painting that has ever been done is the picture described in thr catalogue as a portrait of a famous actor at the time of Philip IV; the background disappears, there's nothing but air surrounding the fellow, who is all in black and appears alive; and the Spinners, the fine portrait of Alonso Cano; las Meninas (the dwarfs)(sic), another extraordinary picture; the philosophers, both amazing pieces; all the dwarfs, one in particular seen sitting full face with his hands on his hips, a choice picture for a true connoisseur; his magnificient portraits- one would have to go through them all, they are all masterpieces; a portrait of Charles V by Titian, which is highly regarded and which I'm sure I would have admired anywhere else, seems wooden to me here.
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Then there is Goya, the most originial next to the
master whom he imitated too closely in the most servile sense of
imitation. But still he's tremendously sprited. The museum has two fine
equestrian portraits by him, done in the manner of Velasquez, though
much inferior. What I've seen by Goya so far hasn't greatly appealed to
me; in a day or so I'm to see a splendid collection of his work at the
Duke of Osuna's… (p.41)
* * *
Chateau de Vassé, Thursday 14 September (1865)
TO CHARLES BAUDELAIRE (in Brussels)
…At
last, my dear Baudelaire, I've really come to know Velasquez and I tell
you he's the greatest artist there has ever been; I saw 30 or 40 of his
canvases in Madrid, portraits and other things, all masterpieces; he's
greater than his reputation and compensates all by himself for the
fatigue and problems that are inevitable on a journey in Spain. I saw
some interesting things by Goya, some of them very fine, including an
incredibly charming portrait of the Duchess of Alba dressed as a majo
(sic)… (p.42)
* * *
Chatateau
de Vasse, 17 September (1865)
TO ZACHARIE ASTRUC
I'm back from my Spanish tour and am staying on for a few days. I'm
planning to take a bit rest, because I had a great deal to see in a
short time and came back to the family worn out. Your advice and
excellent instructions guided me during my stay, so it's to you, first
and foremost, that I owe an account of what I found there. What thrilled
me most in Spain and made the trip worthwhile were the works of
Velasquez. He's the greatest artist of all; he came as no surprise,
however, for I discovered in his work the fulfilment of my own ideals in
painting, and the sight of those masterpieces gave me enormous hope and
courage… I was not at all impressed by Ribera and Murillo. They are
definitely second-rate artists. Compared to Velasquez's portrait of the
Duke of Olivares, Titian's Charles V looks like a dummy on a rocking
horse. There were only two painters, apart from the Master, who
attracted me: Greco whose work is bizarre, but includes some very fine
portraits(I didn't like his Christ at Burgos at all) and Goya whose
masterpiece seems to be in the Academy (The Duchess of Alba [in fact the
Clothed Maja], what a stunning creation)… (p. 42-43)
* * *
(L'Evenement
illustre, 10 May 1868)
RECORDED BY EMILE ZOLA
(During the portrait sessions) …I can't do anything without the model. I
don't know how to invent. So long as I tried to paint according to the
lessons I had learnt, I produced nothing worthwhile. If I amaount to
anything today, I put it down to precise interpretation and faithful
analysis. (p.49)
***
(c. 1868-70)
RECORDED
BY PHILIPPE BURTY
(A lesson in still-life painting for Eva Gonzales) Get it down quickly.
Don't worry about the background. Just go for the tonal values. You see?
When you look at it, and above all when you think how to render it as
you see it, that is, in such a way that it makes the same impresssion on
the viewer as it does on you, you don't look for, you don't see the
lines on the paper over there do you? And then, when you look at the
whole thing, you don't try to count the scales on the salmon. Of course
not. You see them as little silver pearls against grey and pink - isn't
that right? - look at the pink of this salmon, with the bone appearing
white in the centre and than greys like shades of mother of pearl!
And the grapes, now do you count each grape? Of coursenot. What strikes
you is their clear amber colour, and the bloom which models the form by
softening it. What you have to decide with the cloth is where the
highlights come and then the planes which are not in direct light.
Halff-tones are for the Magasin pittoresque engravers. The folds will
come by themselves if you put them in their proper place. Ah! M. Ingres,
there's the man! We're all just children. There's the one who knew how
to paint materials! Ask Bracquemond… Above all keep your colours
fresh!... (p.54)
* * *
(1873)
RECORDED BY THEODORE DURET
(To
friends posing for the Opera ball) How do you put on your hat when you
do it without thinking and feel completely at your ease? Well then, do
it the same way when you are posing, without any affectation. (p. 119)
* * *
TOUT ARRIVE Wednesday evening (8 April 1874 postmark)
TO EUGENE MONTROSIER
I very much appreciate your sympathy; I've had two paintings refused, the
Opera ball and a Landscape with figures. They really are an ill-mannered
lot, these artistic worthies! But if you are willing to help me a
little, that is a great compensation. (p. 119)
* * *
TOUT ARRIVE (12 April? 1874)
TO STEPHANE MALLARME
My dear friend, Thanks, if I had a few supporters like you, I wouldn't
give a f… about the jury. (p.119)
*
* *
(1870s)
RECORDED BY ANTONIN PROUST
(To Jean Béraud, on
Monet) ...Coquelin has a good eye, one day he will appreciate
Claude Monet. There's not one of the school of 1830 who can set down
landscape like him. And when it comes to water - he's the Raphael of
water. He knows all its movements, whether deep or shallow, at every
time of the day. I emphasise that last phrase, because of Courbet's
magnificent remark to Daubigny who had complimented him on a seascape:
"It's not a seascape, it's a time of day." That's what people don't
fully understand yet, that one doesn't paint a landscape, a seascape, a
figure; one paints the effect of a time of day on a landscape, a
seascape, or a figure. (p.121)
* * *
(Venice, winter 1874-5)
RECORDED BY CHARLES TOCHE
(On
the encounter with Toché at Café Florian) I can see you're a Frenchmen…
Heavens, how boring it is here! (On a motif for a picture near the
Salute) I'll put in a gondola with a gondolier wearing a pink shirt and
an orange scarf, one of those handsome fellows, as dark as a Moor.
… It's the most difficult thing, to give the impression that a hat is
sitting properly on the model's head, or that a boat has been
constructed from planks cut and fitted according to the rules of
geometry.
(On planning a picture of the regatta at Mestre) When faced with such a
distractingly complicated scene, I must first of all choose a typical
incident and define my picture, as if I could see it framed. In this
case, the most striking features are the masts with their flittering,
multicoloured banners, the red-white-and-green Italian flag, the dark,
swaying line of boats crowded with spectators, and the gondolas like
black and white arrows shooting away from horizon; then, at the top of
the picture, the watery horizon, the marked target and the islands in
the distant haze.
I would first try to work out logically the differen values, in thir
nearer or more distant relationships, according to spatial and aerial
perspective.
The
lagoon mirrors the sky, and at the same time acts as a great stage for
the boats and their passengers, the masts, the banners, etc. It has its
own particular colour, the nuances it borrows from the sky, the clouds,
from crowds, from objects reflected in the water. There can be no sharp
definition, no linear structure in something that is all movement; only
tonal values which, if correctly observed, will constitute its true
volume, its essential, underlying design.
The gondolas and other boats, with their generally dark colours and
reflections, provide a base on which to set my watery stage. The
figures, seated or in action, dressed in dark colours or brilliantly
vivid materials, with their parasols, handkerchiefs and hats, appear as
crenellated forms of differing tonal values, providing the necessary
repoussoir and defining the specific character of the areas of water and
gondolas that I can see through them.
Crowds, rowers, flags and masts must be sketched in with a mosaic of
coloured tones, in an attempt to convey the fleetingly quality of
gestures, the fluttering flags, the swaying masts.
On the horizon, right at the top, are the islands. There should be no more
than a suggestion of the most distant planes, veiled in the subtlest,
most accurately observed tints.
Finally the sky should cover and envelope the whole scene, like an
immense, shining canopy whose light plays over all the figures and
objects.
The brushstrokes must be spontaneous and direct. No tricks, you have to
pray to the God of all good, honest artists to come to your aid!
(On painters and schools) Spain is so simple, so grandiose, so dramatic,
with its bone-dry stones and green-dark trees! Venice, when all's said
and done, is just a decor…
(On Veronese's Triumph of Venice in the Palazzo Ducale) It leves me cold!
Such wasted effort, such empty expanses! No emotion whatsoever! I love
the Carpaccios with their naive charm like illuminated books of hours.
And… the Titians and Tintorettos in the Scuola di San Rocco are
imcomparable…But in the end, you see, I always come back to Velasquez
and Goya!
(On Tiepolo) They're so boring, these Italians, with their allegories,
their characters from Jerusalem delivered and Orlando furioso, with all
that showy bric-'a-brac. An artist can say everything with fruit and
flowers, or simply with clouds… (p.124)
* * *
(Undated)
RECORDED BY ANTONIN PROUST
We're on the wrong track. Who was it who said that drawing is the
transcription of form? The truth is, art should be the transcription of
life. In other words, at the Ecole des Beaux Arts, they do fine work but
a lousy job…
An artist must be a 'spontaneist'. That is the proper term. But in order
to achieve spontaneity, you must muster your art. Trial and error won't
get you anywhere. You must translate what you feel, but your translation
must be instanteous, so to speak. One talks of l'esprit de escalier, or
taking a belated step with a witty retort. No one has ever talked of
l'escalier de l'esprit, or the steps that lead to wit and wisdom. Yet so
many people try to climb them and never succeed in reaching the top,
given the difficulty of getting there at a single bound. The fact is,
you always find that what you did yesterday is no longer in harmony with
what you are doing today.
Personally, I am not greatly interested in what is said about art. But if
I had to give an opinion, I would put it inthis way: everything that has
a sense of humanity, a sense of modernity, is interesting: everything
that lacks these is worthless. (p.202)
* * *
(1882)
RECORDED BY GEORGES JEANNOT
Concision in art is a necessity and a matter of elegance. The concise man
makes you think; the verbose man is a bore. Always aim for concision…
Look for the essential areas of light and shade in a figure; the rest
will fall into place, often with no greater effort. And because nature
can only give you factual information, you must cultivate your memory
which will act as a safety net and save you from falling into banality…
You must always lead the dance and provide entertainment. Don't make it
a chore, no, never a chore!... (p.202)
* * *
(Undated)
RECORDED BY ANTONIN PROUST
If Bacon's definition, that art is man added to nature, homo additus
naturae, is an absolute truth, you still have to be sure that nature is
what you've got. Even the most faithful memory is no substitute.
(On colour and line) …without punctuation there can be no spelling nor
grammar, and its absurd to try and distinguish between colour and line.
…It's true I don't draw the sort of stupid lines one is taught at the
Ecole (des Beaux- Arts). But just ask the illustrious professors who
teach there to sketch in a picture with a feeling for light in their
fingertips. I defy them to do it. There is such a radiance and mobility
in the atmosphere that envelops everything in its dazzling splendor! Try
telling that to people who pin a figure on a canvas as one pins a
butterfly in a display case.
(On
a portrait by a fashionable artist) I can see, of course, that he has
painted a frock coat. And this frock coat is impeccably cut. But where
are the sitter's lungs? He isn't breathing under it. He has no body.
It's a portrait for a tailor. (p.202)
* * *
(c.1878)
RECORDED BY GASTON LA TOUCHE
Thank you for having thought of me, but I can not take any pupils. Anyway,
what would I teach you? Nothing; or at least a very few things that can
be summed up in a couple of words: black does not exist, that's the
first precept; don't do anything that is seen through someone else's
work, that's the second. So go back home and paint from nature, which is
much more important than Messrs X,Y and Z. (p.203)
* * *
(1868-78)
RECORDED BY BERTHE MORISOT
You can do plein air painting indoors, by painting white in the morning,
lilac during the day and orange-toned in the evening. (p.203)
* * *
(c.1878-1882)
RECORDED
BY HENRI GERVEX
(On Robert-Fleury Senior [1797-1890], béte noire of Impressionist
painters) Isn't he ever going to leave us in peace, that old monster
with one foot on the burnt sienna ground and the other in the grave!
(p.203)
* * *
(1870s)
RECORDED BY GEORGE MOORE
When Degas was painting Semiramis (in the early 1860s), I was painting
modern Paris. (p.203)
* * *
(1870s)
RECORDED BY EDMOND BAZIRE
(to visitors to Manet's studio) Just look at this Degas, this Renoir, this
Monet! Ah my friends, what talent!(p.203)
* * *
(Art Monthly Review, 30 September 1876)
RECORDED BY STEPHANE MALLARME
(Originial English translation from the lost French text) Each time (one)
begins a picture… (one) plunges headlong into it, and feels like a man
who knows that that his surest plan to learn to swim safely is,
dangerous as it may be, to throw himself into the water… No one should
paint a landscape and a figure by the same process, with the same
knowledge, or in the same fashion; nor what is more, even two landscapes
or two figures. Each work should be a new creation of the mind. The
hand, it is true, will conserve some of its acquired secrets of
manipulation, but the eye should forget all else it has seen, and learn
anew from the lessons before it. It should abstract itself from memory,
seeing only that which it looks upon, and that as for the first time;
and the hand should become an impersonal abstraction guided only by the
will, oblivious of all cunning. (p.204)
(*) All quotations from book edited by Juliet Wilson-Bareau, Manet By
Himself, Time. (Page numbers noted after quotation.)
