An artwork on Galleree from Minneapolis Institute of Art.
About the artwork
The Smoker1866
Artist: Édouard Manet
French, 1832 - 1883
39 1/2 x 32in. (100.3 x 81.3cm)
54 x 46 1/2 x 5 in. (137.16 x 118.11 x 12.7 cm) (outer frame)
Oil on canvas
Painting
France
19th century
Gift of Bruce B. Dayton
In the bustling heart of 1860s Paris, a world of ordinary lives unfolded against the backdrop of extraordinary art. Nestled among the city’s vibrant streets lived a working-class character, a representation of countless Parisians who went about their daily routines, their stories woven into the fabric of the city. This character, like so many others, captured the attention of Édouard Manet, a painter destining to intertwine the mundane with the monumental.
Just a year prior to creating this portrait, Manet had wandered through the sunlit galleries of Madrid, captivated by the spellbinding brushwork of Diego Velásquez. The Spanish master had a remarkable knack for bringing out the essence of common folks, his oils revealing their simple beauty with an almost mesmerising truthfulness. Manet stood in awe, the spirit of Velásquez mingling with his own artistic vision, inspiring him to transcend the ordinary and breathe new life into forgotten stories.
He returned to Paris, his mind aflame with ideas, ready to honor these everyday lives. In a twist both daring and modern, Manet set about creating a series that transformed the unremarkable into something grand. He elevated their likenesses to the majestic scale of a formal portrait, a sacred space in art typically reserved for the elite. There, in the quiet dignity of his brushstrokes, the essence of the working-class spirit was celebrated, akin to a hymn sung for those seldom noticed.
Surrounding this remarkable portrait is a Louis XIV revival frame, a gift from the Douglas and Mary Olson Frame Acquisition Fund. This frame, a product of the nineteenth century, showcases intricate leaf and floral motifs, as if blossoming with life. Here, amidst the delicate carvings, you can almost see the tendrils of nature stretching outward, yearning to entwine with the portrait it envelops.
Within this marriage of character and artistry lies a gentle reminder: every story, no matter how humble, deserves to be told, and every soul, no matter how ordinary, is worthy of a grand stage.
About the artist
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