Madame Edouard Manet (Suzanne Leenhoff, 1829–1906)
ca. 1873
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
39 1/2 x 30 7/8 in. (100.3 x 78.4 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Miss Adelaide Milton de Groot (1876-1967), 1967
Accession Number
67.187.81
Tags
Art Historical Context
Édouard Manet's *Madame Édouard Manet (Suzanneenhoff, 1829–1906)*, around 1873, is an intimate portrait of the artist's wife, a Dutch pianist who served as his muse and model throughout their life together. The couple married in 186 after years of companionship, with Suzanne having borne Manet's son Léon earlier. This oil-on-canvas work, measuring nearly 40 by 31 inches, captures her poised elegance against a dark background, reflecting the personal side of Manet's world amid his rising fame as a provocateur in French art. Manet, a pivotal figure bridging Realism and Impressionism, employed h...
About the Artist
Edouard Manet · 1832–1883
Édouard Manet (1832-1883) was a French painter who played a pivotal role in the transition from Realism to Impressionism, often called the 'Father of Modern Art.' Born into a wealthy Parisian family, Manet defied his father's wishes for a legal career to pursue painting, studying under academic artist Thomas Couture. His revolutionary works 'Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe' and 'Olympia' (both 1863) scand...