Edouard Manet, Luncheon in the Studio, 1868, Oil on canvasSunlight illumines the subjects face.
Dressed in a man's clothes, a baby's face gazes into the world beyond him. Behind him is a real man, bearded, smoking, looking in the other direction. Color rests in what brings thoughts of home and comfort. The table, food, the potted plant. Maid and mother meld into one as both are distant, grey.. lit with only the silver water pitcher. She looks with motherly perception at her distraction. Beside him on the chair, juxtaposed are the comforts of boyhood and the weight of manhood. Sword and helmet, contented, self-grooming house-cat. Boy with a man's heart.
The original painting is 46x60. Nearly lifesized. That's a lot of grey! I ask myself whyever would anyone paint so much grey into anything that big? To make a point? One reason could be that the boy in the foreground, Loen Koella Leenhoff, is believed to be Manet's son.
Leon's jacket is black velvet. Another artist, Henri Matisse is quoted as saying it was made of "pure black and light."
Ok. The floor is open.
4 comments:
The Maid has the "just finish the work and get through the day so I can go home I'm so tired" look...
The man is relaxed, stomach is full, enjoying a good smoke... it's a "life is good" moment.
The boy... well, as all boys are... is bored, tired of these boring adults, anxious to be on his own, in the world, treated like a man... with that, 'can we just go now?' look. He's actually leaning against the table. at first I thought he was walking away purposefully, but leaning against the table made me re-think his attitude altogether.... and you're right... a LOT of gray... the painter definitely doesn't want the focus on the background, but on the boy.
Bonnie! You crack me up!!!
I love it!!
I'm sure you're right-
Especially about the maid!
Which object do you like the best in the picture?
I have to say... I'm rather partial to the lemon myself.
It seems to be falling off the table.
Lunch is over in the studio. The boy's father is getting back to work and he's watching him (or perhaps he's looking at his father's model?). He is full of energy and Manet painted him with the appearance of movement. The boy face says, "He may be man-sized but he's still my little boy!" But my favorite part is the puff of smoke from the gentleman at the table. White and grey on a darker grey background...amazingly done!
I like the teapot in the maid's hand... how in the world did he make it look so real, like it really does have a reflective, mirror like surface!
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