Manet and the French impressionists: Pissarro--Claude Monet--Sisley--Renoir--Berthe Morisot--Cézanne--Guillaumin . to that troupe of musicians and dancerswhich had also provided Manet with Le Ballet espagnol andLola de Valence. He had, therefore, the merit of being a realSpaniard. He was one of those types not to be found amongprofessional models, but only in the world outside the studio,to whom Manet, in opposition to Coutures precepts, felt himselfstrongly drawn. He is seated on a green bench, with a sombreroon his head, round which is wrapped a handkerchief, wearinga black jacket, grey trou
Manet and the French impressionists: Pissarro--Claude Monet--Sisley--Renoir--Berthe Morisot--Cézanne--Guillaumin . to that troupe of musicians and dancerswhich had also provided Manet with Le Ballet espagnol andLola de Valence. He had, therefore, the merit of being a realSpaniard. He was one of those types not to be found amongprofessional models, but only in the world outside the studio,to whom Manet, in opposition to Coutures precepts, felt himselfstrongly drawn. He is seated on a green bench, with a sombreroon his head, round which is wrapped a handkerchief, wearinga black jacket, grey trousers, and list shoes. He is bawlingout a song with great gusto, at the same time strumming onthe guitar. The Chanteur espagnol, belonging to the experi-mental period, marks a step forward. It reveals the vigour ofthe artists growth and the speedy ripening of his is much less encumbered with the methods and the reminis-cence of the studio than the Buveur dabsinthe, which was sentto the Salon in 1859. It is painted in a more direct andpersonal manner. It was, in short, a work in which the parti-. LE GUITARERO MANET EARLY WORKS 15 cular characteristics of the artist were already manifest. Whenthese original qualities, however, came to light for the firsttime in this picture, they gave rise to none of those violentstorms which they were to provoke when fully developed. Thepicture was painted in a scale of grey and black tones, whichdid not unduly shock the eye of the beholder. It is true thatit was conceived in the realistic manner which was then so muchdetested ; but, as the unusual costume of the Spanish model gaveit almost an air of fantasy, it seemed more or less removed fromthe reality of everyday life. Thus, while not specially attractingthe attention of the public, this work of the young artist wasnoticed by painters and certain of the critics. The jury awardedit an honourable mention, and Theophile Gautier, in his noticeof it in Le Moniteur Universel, summed
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectpainting, bookyear191
