Young Lady in 1866
1866
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
72 7/8 x 50 5/8 in. (185.1 x 128.6 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Erwin Davis, 1889
Accession Number
89.21.3
Tags
Art Historical Context
Édouard Manet's *Young Lady in 1866* is a striking oil-on-canvas portrait from 1866, measuring an impressive 72 7/8 x 50 5/8 inches. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's European Paintings department since its 1889 gift from Erwin Davis, this work captures a poised young woman accompanied by a vibrant parrot—a playful nod to 19th-century French portrait traditions while hinting at Manet's modern sensibilities. Manet, a pivotal figure bridging Realism and Impressionism, painted during a time of artistic upheaval in Paris. His loose brushwork and bold compositions challenged academic conv...
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...