"Beauty, Fashion, and Happiness": Manet's Last Years

The name Manet brings to mind artistic revolution: large-scale, provocative Salon pictures like The Luncheon on the Grass and Olympia that sent shockwaves through the French art world in the 1860s. But in the late 1870s and early 80s, he produced a different body of work: stylish portraits, luscious still lifes, pastels, watercolors, freely brushed scenes of suburban gardens, and Parisian cafes. These are not “late” works in a strict sense, for the artist died prematurely, at 51, in 1883. But the work of his last years is distinct from what came before, characterized by a newfound interest in fashion and flowers; a brighter, lighter palette; a new intimacy of scale; and freshness of touch. This lecture addresses Manet’s stylistic turn during his long and painful illness, exploring depictions of elegant Parisian ladies and carefully arranged bouquets that sparkle with an insistent—perhaps even defiant—sense of life.



Emily Beeny, associate curator, Drawings, J. Paul Getty Museum



Wednesday, May 8, 2019

Robert J. Boardingham Memorial Lecture