Walk: Hood
Distance: 5 miles
Manet & Morisot Side by Side: The first major exhition dedicated to the artistic exchange between these two strong willed, compelling and revolutionary artists is now at our Legion of Honor*, and it is a feast for the eyes with many of their canvases either side by side or staring at each other across rooms. It is also eye-opening. Usually scholars have presented Manet, the great pioneer of modern painting, as teacher and Morisot, the only woman to exhibit under her own name in all eight Impressionist group shows, as model and student. But the Legion exhibition shows Manet bcoming more of a student himself as he was increasingly influenced by Morisot's choice of subjects, colors and brushwork.
Arguably the strongest example of Morisot's artistic style on Manet is in the two gorgeously sensuous portraits of a woman at her toilette.
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| Berthe Morisot, Woman at Her Toilette, 1875-1880, o/c |
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| Edouard Manet, Before the Mirror, 1877, o/c |
Manet's work is usually characterized by definite, broad bushwork, beautifully clear outlines, darker colors (Goya was his idol), yet in the painting above he makes looser use of his brush and plays with pastels and whites, very 'Morisotian' techniques. This represents a huge softening somewhere in Manet's mind. He was known to be supremely self-assured in character and artistic endeavors. In fact his first artistic 'partnership' with Morisot consisted of nearly completely repainting her submission to one of the important Parisian salons. It was hours before the submission was due, Morisot was struggling with the work so she invited the great Manet to give her suggestions. He took brush in hand and nearly remade one side of the painting. Morisot was horrified, so much so that she became increasingly determined to work alone and develop her own style. So, inadvertently, Manet likely gave her the impetus to rise to the level of prominence and success she achieved.
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