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World of Art
Manet and the painters of contemporary life
There are some great painters whose influence is confined to the world of painting—others whose impact is felt more widely, who through their art are effectively moral critics, challenging the society in which they live. Manet was one of these. Rejecting the traditional ‘histories’ and ‘mythologies’ that won official acclaim, he turned instead to the life of his own time.
Yet he did not ally himself with the other painters of contemporary life, the Impressionists, preferring to engage with a Realist tradition, and at the same time drawing on the art of the past—Raphael, Titian, Velazquez, Goya – to confront his own age. It was a provocative program and one which baffled the establishment.
In this freshly researched study Dr Alan Krell examines the artist’s known intentions and the critical, sometimes bitterly hostile reception that he encountered. He sets Manet against Impressionists like Monet, Degas and Morisot, and shows how the artist’s progressive social views – on sexuality, on the position of women, on the family—were expressed through a style equally ‘modern’, yet rooted in the European artistic tradition.
Yet he did not ally himself with the other painters of contemporary life, the Impressionists, preferring to engage with a Realist tradition, and at the same time drawing on the art of the past—Raphael, Titian, Velazquez, Goya – to confront his own age. It was a provocative program and one which baffled the establishment.
In this freshly researched study Dr Alan Krell examines the artist’s known intentions and the critical, sometimes bitterly hostile reception that he encountered. He sets Manet against Impressionists like Monet, Degas and Morisot, and shows how the artist’s progressive social views – on sexuality, on the position of women, on the family—were expressed through a style equally ‘modern’, yet rooted in the European artistic tradition.
- GenresArtArt History
208 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1996
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 20, 2021
Manet's art resists categorisation, being neither Realist or Impressionist, but it is emphatically modern, both in its depiction of modern subject-matter (e.g. the demimonde) and in its formal technique (e.g. flattening of the canvas). What makes his art stand out from that of his contemporaries, however, is that he "fractures, distorts, and manipulates" in such a way that "appropriates from older art and the popular imagery of its own day, [making] visual puns and [destabilising] the act of looking." His characteristic irony which permeates almost his entire oeuvre is what makes his art so compelling.
On a side note, it is truly amazing how much our society has changed from from the pre-industrial era to the modern era (which Manet's art was situated in) and finally to the (post-?)postmodern age we live in. The idea of the dandy, for example, is something that is so ubiquitous that it is barely considered nowadays but it is so interesting how that, and the flaneur, is something that's rather new in human history.
On a side note, it is truly amazing how much our society has changed from from the pre-industrial era to the modern era (which Manet's art was situated in) and finally to the (post-?)postmodern age we live in. The idea of the dandy, for example, is something that is so ubiquitous that it is barely considered nowadays but it is so interesting how that, and the flaneur, is something that's rather new in human history.
June 6, 2018
I really enjoy the world of art series - I am fairly ignorant about art but find these book useful and informative. Manet was no exception and made me look at Manet's place in art history and more importantly his pictures.
October 12, 2015
I'm rating the book so low mainly because I had to read it for class.
It's really unfair to the book but I had to read it and I hated every minute of it.
Art history, especially an artist I don't like is not my thing.
It's really unfair to the book but I had to read it and I hated every minute of it.
Art history, especially an artist I don't like is not my thing.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews