Description:
woman; portrait; costume/uniform
Label Text:
This portrait is one of five that Manet painted of Marguérite de Conflans, whose family was close to the artist. This is not a formal portrait; the seventeen-year-old girl is shown with her hair down, dressed casually in a loose-fitting gown, and tucked into the corner of a green sofa. She leans on her right hand and stares forthrightly at the viewer. The painting is very loosely brushed, with the sitter’s left side almost disappearing into formlessness under her dress.
A decade earlier, Manet had shocked Parisian society with his painting of the nude courtesan Olympia, and his Luncheon on the Grass, in which bohemian picnickers relax in various states of dress and undress. While this portrait is not provocative, it does skirt portrait conventions of the time.
Subjects:
Canvas Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=SC+1945.6 |
