Manet - Edouard Manet

French painter. Born on January 23rd in Paris to a wealthy bourgeois family, his father a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Justice and his mother the daughter of a powerful diplomat. Manet's urbane and refined tastes came from this family. As he wanted to pursue a career in painting, he found himself at odds with his father, who wanted to become a lawyer, and as a compromise he decided to enter the Naval Academy, but failed the entrance exam twice. Eventually his father relented, and in 1850 he entered the studio of Thomas Couture (1815-1879). Although there were occasional disagreements between them, he inherited from his teacher a love of great colorists, learned the technique of abruptly contrasting light and dark areas by excluding halftones, and stayed in the studio for six years. During that time, he traveled to Italy in 1853, and to the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Italy, and other countries in 1856, studying the works of the great masters of the past. In 1859, he submitted "A Man Drinking an Absinthe" to the Salon but was rejected, but in 1861, his "Portrait of Parents" and "The Spanish Singer (Guitarello)" were selected for the first time at the Salon, the latter of which won the praise of Théophile Gautier. This clearly shows Manet's Spanish taste, and his works from the 1860s often show strong influences of Spanish painting, especially those of Velázquez and Goya.

The Luncheon on the Grass, which he rejected from the Salon of 1863 and exhibited at the Salon des Refusés in the same year, caused a furor among critics and audiences, and Olympia, which he exhibited at the Salon of 1865, also caused controversy. Both works depict nude women, but not only were they unpopular for their flat depiction, which lacked sufficient fleshiness, but the fact that he depicted a real-life nude woman, rather than a mythical or exotic nude such as a nymph, Venus, or odalisque, also caused criticism and abuse. The latter in particular recalls the high-class prostitutes of the Second Empire. Both were inspired by the works of Giorgione and Titian, but the dreamlike atmosphere of his earlier works was eliminated, and a strong modernity was expressed. Manet's belief was that "one must be a man of his own time," and he responded to the "heroism of modern life" advocated by the poet Baudelaire, with whom he had been friends since the 1850s. The Concert in the Tuileries Gardens in 1862 is considered to be the first realization of this belief. However, many of his works were inspired by the art of the past, and their modernity still lingers on the legacy of tradition.

In the late 1860s, critics such as Zola began to defend Manet. Young painters and critics who would later form the Impressionist movement gathered around him, and he came to be seen as a leading figure in the new art world. In the 1870s, he adopted a technique of dividing brushstrokes with bright colors, and the influence of Impressionism began to be seen in his work. However, despite the strong requests of young painters, he never participated in an Impressionist exhibition, and continued to exhibit at the Salon, believing that the Salon was the true battleground for painters.

In his later years, he suffered from leg problems and mainly painted still lifes and portraits, using many pastels. However, his last masterpiece, A Tavern at the Folies-Bergère (1882), beautifully expressed the "heroism of modern life." He died in Paris on April 30, 1883, at the age of 51.

The aloofness and coldness that is often seen in Manet's paintings, as well as the mutual affection of people, can be interpreted as indifference to the subject, the elimination of meaning, and an emphasis on form, and there is a tendency to attribute the birth of pure painting, which emphasizes the independence of the formative elements, to Manet. However, in recent years, there have been many attempts to read allegorical meanings into his paintings, and Manet remains one of the most controversial painters. In any case, there is no doubt that he was a "dandy" who combined a lively curiosity about reality with a standpoint of coldness, highly refined tastes, and sensual pleasures.

[Tatsuji Omori]

"Manet," commentary by P. Courtillon, translated by Senashi Nobuyuki (1968, Bijutsu Shuppansha)" ▽ "Complete Works of Modern World Art 1: Manet, commentary by Sasaki Hideyo (1970, Shueisha)" ▽ "The Life of Manet, by H. Peruschot, translated by Kawamori Yoshizo (1983, Kodansha)" ▽ "Memories of Manet, by A. Proust, translated by Nomura Taro (1983, Bijutsu Koronsha)" ▽ "The Creator of Art, by P. Gay, translated by Kawanishi Susumu et al. (1980, Minerva Shobo)" ▽ "The Artist in the Crowd: Baudelaire and 19th Century French Painting, by Abe Yoshio (1979, Chuokoron-Shinsha)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

フランスの画家。司法省の高官を父とし、有力な外交官の娘を母に、1月23日パリの富裕なブルジョアの家庭に生まれる。マネのいかにも都会的な洗練された趣味は、この家庭に由来する。絵の道を歩もうとする彼は、法律家になることを望む父親との間に意見の対立をみ、妥協策として海軍兵学校入りを決意するが、入学試験に二度も失敗。結局、父親も折れ、1850年にトマ・クーチュールThomas Couture（1815―1879）のアトリエに入る。師との間にはときおり意見の相違はあったものの、彼は師から偉大な色彩画家に対する愛好を受け継ぎ、またハーフトーンを排して明部と暗部を唐突に対比する表現技法を学び、このアトリエに6年間とどまる。その間、1853年にイタリア旅行、さらに1856年にはオランダ、ドイツ、オーストリア、イタリアなどを旅行し、過去の巨匠の作品を研究した。1859年『アプサントを飲む男』をサロンに送るが落選、1861年のサロンで『両親の肖像』と『スペインの歌い手（ギタレロ）』が初入選して、後者はテオフィール・ゴーチエの賞賛を得た。それはマネのスペイン趣味を顕著に示すものであり、1860年代の彼の作品にはしばしばスペイン絵画、とりわけベラスケスやゴヤの影が色濃く認められる。

　1863年のサロンに落選し、同年開催の落選展に出品した『草上の昼食』は、批評家や観衆の間にごうごうたる非難を巻き起こし、さらに1865年のサロン出品作『オランピア』もまた物議を醸した。両作品とも裸体の女が描かれているが、その十分な肉づけが施されていない平坦(へいたん)な描き方が不評だったのみならず、ニンフやビーナスやオダリスクといった神話的・異国的世界の裸婦ではなく、現実の世界の裸婦を描いたことが、非難と罵声(ばせい)の原因ともなった。とりわけ後者は第二帝政期の高級娼婦(しょうふ)を想起させる。いずれもジョルジョーネやティツィアーノの作品が発想源になっているが、過去の作品のもつ夢幻的雰囲気は排除されて、現代性が力強く表出されている。「自らの時代の人間であらねばならない」というのがマネの信条であり、1850年代以来親交を結んだ詩人ボードレールの説く「現代生活の英雄性」にも反応した。1862年の『チュイルリー公園の音楽会』はその最初の実現と考えられている。しかし彼の作品の多くは、過去の芸術を発想源にしており、その現代性は伝統の尾を引きずっている。

　1860年代後半、ゾラをはじめマネを擁護する批評家も登場。また、彼の周囲には、のちに印象派を形成する若い画家や批評家が集まって、彼は新しい芸術の指導的な存在と目されるようになる。1870年代、明るい色彩による筆触分割の手法を取り入れ、印象派の影響がみられるようになるが、若い画家たちの強い要請にもかかわらず、印象派展には一度も参加せず、サロンが画家にとっての真の闘いの場であると考え、サロンへの出品を続けた。

　晩年は脚(あし)の病に苦しみ、静物画や肖像画をおもな画題とし、パステルを多用した。しかし、最後の大作『フォリー・ベルジェールの酒場』（1882）によって「現代生活の英雄性」がみごとに表現されている。1883年4月30日、51歳でパリに没。

　マネの絵にしばしばみられるよそよそしさ、人間相互の冷ややかさは、主題に対する無関心や意味作用の抹殺、造形性の重視とも解され、造形要素の自立性を強調した純粋絵画の誕生をマネに帰そうとする傾向がある。しかし近年では、彼の絵のなかに寓意(ぐうい)的意味を読み取ろうとする試みも多く、マネはいまだに議論の絶えない画家の1人である。ともあれ、彼は現実に対する生き生きとした好奇心と傍観者的冷ややかさ、高度に洗練された趣味と感覚的喜びを兼ね備えた「ダンディ」であったことに間違いない。

［大森達次］

『P・クールティヨン解説、千足伸行訳『マネ』（1968・美術出版社）』▽『佐々木英世解説『現代世界美術全集1　マネ』（1970・集英社）』▽『H・ペリュショ著、河盛好蔵訳『マネの生涯』（1983・講談社）』▽『A・プルースト著、野村太郎訳『マネの想い出』（1983・美術公論社）』▽『P・ゲイ著、川西進他訳『芸術を生みだすもの』（1980・ミネルヴァ書房）』▽『阿部良雄著『群衆の中の芸術家――ボードレールと19世紀フランス絵画』（1979・中央公論社）』

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