Manet Copy

Manet Copy

8x6in oil on canvas board  $100.

This rose study (detail) by Edouard Manet (1832-1883) was completed in 1882, one year before he died. Like the previous two artists, Sargent and Sorolla, Manet studied the work of Velasquez and the similarities of the brushwork are apparent in all the early works. 
I picked this piece to copy simply for the reason of the close up view of the roses. It is easy to get a magnifying glass to study the strokes and edges. Unlike the previous pieces I copied I found I was not enamored with this piece. There was an awkward aspect I could not understand so I did some research only to find out how very ill he was when he painted it. I am full of admiration for the spirit within him to continue to paint under what must have been painful circumstances.
Less than a year later his leg was amputated and he died 10 days later. He is buried in the cemetery at Passy, France.
Several artists held the flag which covered his coffin. Monet was one of them.

Manet Copy

Manet Copy

6x6in  oil on canvas board   $85.

Detail: Still Life with Salmon  1866

Doing this Copying Master Artists series started because I wanted to see if I could learn how they all handled painting fruit. When I got to Manet I wished I had chosen flowers as my subject matter because I love the flower paintings he did.
I picked this painting to do a detail from because I have seen the original. It is in the Shelburne Museum, Vermont.

 I have always admired Manet's work, mostly because his painting, Olympia, made a huge impression on me when I was an art student. I responded to his bold brushwork, use of contrast and there was a sophisticated modernity of subject and attitude.
Manet was crushed by the rejection of Olympia by the public, not knowing that a hundred years later it would be declared a masterpiece and the start of modern art.
Gauguin reportedly said, 'Painting begins with Manet.'