The Balcony (French: Le balcon) is an 1868-69 oil painting by the French painter Édouard Manet. It depicts four figures on a balcony, one of whom is sitting: the painter Berthe Morisot, who married Manet's brother Eugène in 1874. In the centre is the painter Jean Baptiste Antoine Guillemet. On the right is Fanny Claus, a violinist. The fourth figure, partially obscured in the interior's background, is possibly Léon Leenhoff, Manet's son.[1] It was exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1869, and then kept by Manet until his death in 1883. It was sold to the painter Gustave Caillebotte in 1884, who left it to the French state in 1894. It is currently held at the Musée d'Orsay, in Paris.
The three characters, who were all friends of Manet, seem to be disconnected from each other: while Berthe Morisot, on the left, looks like a romantic and inaccessible heroine, the young violinist Fanny Claus and the painter Antoine Guillemet seem to display indifference. The boy in the background is probably Manet's son, Léon. Just behind the railings, there are a hydrangea in a ceramic pot, and a dog with a ball below Morisot's chair.[2]
This was the first portrait of Morisot by Manet. Manet adopts a restrained colour palette, dominated by white, green and black, with accents of blue (Guillemet's tie) and red (Morisot's fan).
Manet made many preparatory studies, painting the four subjects individually many times: Guillemet as many as fifteen times. A preparatory study for The Balcony was painted at Boulogne in 1868. This unfinished portrait of Fanny Claus, the closest friend of Manet’s wife Suzanne Leenhoff; Claus married Manet's friend Pierre Prins in 1869. The work was bought after Manet's death in a studio sale by John Singer Sargent. The portrait had only been seen once in public since it was first painted in 1868, but in 2012 the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford succeeded in raising the funds to acquire it and keep it permanently in a public collection in the United Kingdom.[3][4]
Reception
The painting was not well received when it was exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1869. The aggressive and bold green of the balcony rails drew much attention, as evidenced by the article devoted to the work by the Grand dictionnaire universel du XIXe siècle in 1878 which stated:[5] "This painting was exhibited at the Salon of 1869 and is one of those who contributed to form this reputation for eccentricity realistic, this reputation of bad taste that was attached to Mr. Manet." The press considered the painting as "discordant". The contrast of colours (the background completely black, the white faces and clothes, the blue tie of the man, and the green railings) contributes to create an atmosphere of "mystery".[2]
Manet deliberately eschewed any sense of connection between the figures, treating them more like objects in a still life than living people. None of them looks at the others. One commentator, the caricaturist Cham, sarcastically called for the shutters to be closed. Morisot herself said "Je suis plus étrange que laide; il paraît que l'épithète de femme fatale a circulé parmi les curieux ("I look more peculiar than ugly; it seems that people asking about it have used the words femme fatale to describe me."). Albert Wolff described it as "coarse art"" at "the level of house painters".
Manet kept the painting until his death in 1883, hanging it near his painting of Olympia. It was bought from the sale of Manet's estate in February 1884 by Gustave Caillebotte, who paid 3,000 francs. Caillebotte displayed it in a prominent position in his house at Gennevilliers. On his death in 1894, Caillebotte's will left the painting, with other works, to the French state. It was displayed at the Musée du Luxembourg from 1896 to 1929, then at the Musée du Louvre until 1986 (from 1947, at the Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume). It was transferred to the Musée d'Orsay in 1986.
Surrealist René Magritte painted Perspective II: Manet's Balcony[6] in 1950, a commentary on the present work. On the balcony are four coffins (one "seated") in place of the four people. Michel Foucault said of Magritte's painting, "C'est bien cette limite de la vie et de la mort, de la lumière et de l'obscurité, qui est là, manifestée par ces trois personnages" (It is this limit of life and death, of light and darkness, which is there, manifested by these three characters).[7] Magritte told Foucault, "For me the setting of The Balcony offered a suitable place to put coffins. The 'mechanism' at work here might form the object of a learned explanation, which I am unable to provide. The explanation would be valid, indeed beyond question, but that would not make it any less mysterious."[8]
Manet's Flaneuse: Portrait of Mademoiselle Claus
Manet's Portrait of Mademoiselle Claus has been considered a sketch for The Balcony. As a preparatory sketch for the finished product, Mademoiselle Claus' portrait captures the artist's overarching intentions. It is her peering eyes over the balcony that suggest her position as a flaneuse, the feminine equivalent to the flâneur who would have been described at the time as a passante. Nesci (2007) introduces the concept of the flaneuse and positions the existence of this feminine figure as early as the 1830s.[9] By scrutinising the masculine figure of the flaneur and uncovering the figure of the flaneuse, "helps us question the conditions of inclusion and exclusion of public urban life".[9] Both the balcony context of The Balcony and the Portrait depict this question of inclusion and exclusion of public urban life, placing women on a balcony peering onto (and therefore gazing) the public urban life, whilst retaining a close physical proximity with their domestic environment (the inside of the house alluded to by the dark space between the two green windows. This act of gazing onto public urban life and reflecting on it without being a part of it is "central to the definition of the flaneur".[10] Manet's The Balcony and the individual sketches he produced prior to the full composition and therefore examples of what 21st century scholars are unravelling in their scrutiny of the masculine flaneur and uncovering of the existence of a very present flaneuse.
Gallery
The Majas at the balcony, by Francisco Goya, private collection, Switzerland
Detail
Portrait of Mademoiselle Claus, by Édouard Manet, Ashmolean Museum
References
^. Smarthistory. Archived from the original on 9 June 2012. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
^ abRamos, Julie (1998). L'ABCdaire de Manet (in French). Paris: Flammarion. pp. 34, 35. ISBN978-2-08-012582-8.
^. Archived from the original on 2012-08-10. Retrieved 2012-08-09.
^Portrait of Mademoiselle Claus by Edouard Manet, Art Fund
^Quoted in Sheaffer-Jones, Caroline. "Georges Bataille's Manet and the 'Strange Impression of an Absence'." Framing French Culture, edited by Natalie Edwards et al., University of Adelaide Press, South Australia, 2015, p. 236. JSTOR 10.20851/j.ctt1t304z1.13
^Meuris, Jacques (1994). René Magritte (trans. By J. A. Underwood). London: Greenwich Editions.
^ abBoutin, Aimée (July 2012). "Rethinking the Flâneur: Flânerie and the Senses". Dix-Neuf. 16 (2): 124–132. doi:10.1179/dix.2012.16.2.01. ISSN 1478-7318. S2CID 194007045.
^D'Souza, A. & McDonough, T. (2006). The invisible flâneuse? : gender, public space and visual culture in nineteenth-century Paris. Manchester: Manchester University Press.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Le Balcon by Édouard Manet.
Impressionism : a centenary exhibition, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, December 12, 1974-February 10, 1975, fully digitized text from The Metropolitan Museum of Art libraries, pp. 120–123.
The Balcony, Musée d'Orsay
January 23, 2023
balcony, manet, balcony, french, balcon, 1868, painting, french, painter, Édouard, manet, depicts, four, figures, balcony, whom, sitting, painter, berthe, morisot, married, manet, brother, eugène, 1874, centre, painter, jean, baptiste, antoine, guillemet, righ. The Balcony French Le balcon is an 1868 69 oil painting by the French painter Edouard Manet It depicts four figures on a balcony one of whom is sitting the painter Berthe Morisot who married Manet s brother Eugene in 1874 In the centre is the painter Jean Baptiste Antoine Guillemet On the right is Fanny Claus a violinist The fourth figure partially obscured in the interior s background is possibly Leon Leenhoff Manet s son 1 It was exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1869 and then kept by Manet until his death in 1883 It was sold to the painter Gustave Caillebotte in 1884 who left it to the French state in 1894 It is currently held at the Musee d Orsay in Paris The BalconyArtistEdouard ManetYear1868MediumOil on canvasDimensions170 cm 124 cm 67 in 49 in LocationMusee d Orsay Paris Contents 1 Inspiration and description 2 Reception 3 Manet s Flaneuse Portrait of Mademoiselle Claus 4 Gallery 5 References 6 External linksInspiration and description EditThe painting inspired by Majas on the Balcony by Francisco Goya was created at the same time and with the same purpose as Luncheon in the Studio The three characters who were all friends of Manet seem to be disconnected from each other while Berthe Morisot on the left looks like a romantic and inaccessible heroine the young violinist Fanny Claus and the painter Antoine Guillemet seem to display indifference The boy in the background is probably Manet s son Leon Just behind the railings there are a hydrangea in a ceramic pot and a dog with a ball below Morisot s chair 2 This was the first portrait of Morisot by Manet Manet adopts a restrained colour palette dominated by white green and black with accents of blue Guillemet s tie and red Morisot s fan Manet made many preparatory studies painting the four subjects individually many times Guillemet as many as fifteen times A preparatory study for The Balcony was painted at Boulogne in 1868 This unfinished portrait of Fanny Claus the closest friend of Manet s wife Suzanne Leenhoff Claus married Manet s friend Pierre Prins in 1869 The work was bought after Manet s death in a studio sale by John Singer Sargent The portrait had only been seen once in public since it was first painted in 1868 but in 2012 the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford succeeded in raising the funds to acquire it and keep it permanently in a public collection in the United Kingdom 3 4 Reception EditThe painting was not well received when it was exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1869 The aggressive and bold green of the balcony rails drew much attention as evidenced by the article devoted to the work by the Grand dictionnaire universel du XIXe siecle in 1878 which stated 5 This painting was exhibited at the Salon of 1869 and is one of those who contributed to form this reputation for eccentricity realistic this reputation of bad taste that was attached to Mr Manet The press considered the painting as discordant The contrast of colours the background completely black the white faces and clothes the blue tie of the man and the green railings contributes to create an atmosphere of mystery 2 Manet deliberately eschewed any sense of connection between the figures treating them more like objects in a still life than living people None of them looks at the others One commentator the caricaturist Cham sarcastically called for the shutters to be closed Morisot herself said Je suis plus etrange que laide il parait que l epithete de femme fatale a circule parmi les curieux I look more peculiar than ugly it seems that people asking about it have used the words femme fatale to describe me Albert Wolff described it as coarse art at the level of house painters Manet kept the painting until his death in 1883 hanging it near his painting of Olympia It was bought from the sale of Manet s estate in February 1884 by Gustave Caillebotte who paid 3 000 francs Caillebotte displayed it in a prominent position in his house at Gennevilliers On his death in 1894 Caillebotte s will left the painting with other works to the French state It was displayed at the Musee du Luxembourg from 1896 to 1929 then at the Musee du Louvre until 1986 from 1947 at the Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume It was transferred to the Musee d Orsay in 1986 Surrealist Rene Magritte painted Perspective II Manet s Balcony 6 in 1950 a commentary on the present work On the balcony are four coffins one seated in place of the four people Michel Foucault said of Magritte s painting C est bien cette limite de la vie et de la mort de la lumiere et de l obscurite qui est la manifestee par ces trois personnages It is this limit of life and death of light and darkness which is there manifested by these three characters 7 Magritte told Foucault For me the setting of The Balcony offered a suitable place to put coffins The mechanism at work here might form the object of a learned explanation which I am unable to provide The explanation would be valid indeed beyond question but that would not make it any less mysterious 8 Manet s Flaneuse Portrait of Mademoiselle Claus EditManet s Portrait of Mademoiselle Claus has been considered a sketch for The Balcony As a preparatory sketch for the finished product Mademoiselle Claus portrait captures the artist s overarching intentions It is her peering eyes over the balcony that suggest her position as a flaneuse the feminine equivalent to the flaneur who would have been described at the time as a passante Nesci 2007 introduces the concept of the flaneuse and positions the existence of this feminine figure as early as the 1830s 9 By scrutinising the masculine figure of the flaneur and uncovering the figure of the flaneuse helps us question the conditions of inclusion and exclusion of public urban life 9 Both the balcony context of The Balcony and the Portrait depict this question of inclusion and exclusion of public urban life placing women on a balcony peering onto and therefore gazing the public urban life whilst retaining a close physical proximity with their domestic environment the inside of the house alluded to by the dark space between the two green windows This act of gazing onto public urban life and reflecting on it without being a part of it is central to the definition of the flaneur 10 Manet s The Balcony and the individual sketches he produced prior to the full composition and therefore examples of what 21st century scholars are unravelling in their scrutiny of the masculine flaneur and uncovering of the existence of a very present flaneuse Gallery Edit The Majas at the balcony by Francisco Goya private collection Switzerland Detail Portrait of Mademoiselle Claus by Edouard Manet Ashmolean MuseumReferences Edit Manet s The Balcony Smarthistory Archived from the original on 9 June 2012 Retrieved 18 July 2012 a b Ramos Julie 1998 L ABCdaire de Manet in French Paris Flammarion pp 34 35 ISBN 978 2 08 012582 8 Saved by the public Ashmolean to keep Manet portrait University of Oxford Archived from the original on 2012 08 10 Retrieved 2012 08 09 Portrait of Mademoiselle Claus by Edouard Manet Art Fund Tome XVI p 281 Museum of Fine Arts of the city of Ghent MSK Gent Belgium https www mskgent be en featured item perspective ii manets balcony Quoted in Sheaffer Jones Caroline Georges Bataille s Manet and the Strange Impression of an Absence Framing French Culture edited by Natalie Edwards et al University of Adelaide Press South Australia 2015 p 236 JSTOR 10 20851 j ctt1t304z1 13 Meuris Jacques 1994 Rene Magritte trans By J A Underwood London Greenwich Editions a b Boutin Aimee July 2012 Rethinking the Flaneur Flanerie and the Senses Dix Neuf 16 2 124 132 doi 10 1179 dix 2012 16 2 01 ISSN 1478 7318 S2CID 194007045 D Souza A amp McDonough T 2006 The invisible flaneuse gender public space and visual culture in nineteenth century Paris Manchester Manchester University Press a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Le Balcon by Edouard Manet Impressionism a centenary exhibition the Metropolitan Museum of Art December 12 1974 February 10 1975 fully digitized text from The Metropolitan Museum of Art libraries pp 120 123 The Balcony Musee d Orsay Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Balcony Manet amp oldid 1124292282, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
