Portrait of Stéphane Mallarmé is an 1876 oil on canvas painting by the French, modernist painter, Édouard Manet. The painting is a portrait of the French poet, Stéphane Mallarmé, who was a friend and colleague of Manet's. Manet and Mallarmé met in 1873 and developed a strong bond, seeing each other almost daily until Manet's death in 1883.[1] Mallarmé enlisted Manet's help in illustrating his own poems and his translation of Edgar Allan Poe’s tale, The Raven.[2] This familiarity between artist and subject might explain why contemporaries considered Manet’s painting of Mallarmé to be an accurate depiction of the poet.[1]
| Artist | Édouard Manet |
| Year | 1876 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 27.2 cm × 35.7 cm (10.7 in × 14.1 in) |
| Location | Musée d'Orsay |
The painting depicts Mallarmé resting casually on a couch, holding a cigar, appearing in deep contemplation. Some art historians draw similarities between Manet’s portrait of Mallarmé, and his illustrations for Mallarmé’s translation of The Raven.[1]: 231
The painting was acquired from Mallarmé's family by the Louvre Museum in 1928, and now resides in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris.[3]
Composition and analysis
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In the portrait, Mallarmé is depicted leaning back against the white cushions of a couch, holding a cigar, and appearing to be in deep contemplation. Art historians have speculated that the couch the subject rests on could be the couch in Manet’s rue de Saint-Pétersbourg studio.[1] Mallarmé appears in front of light beige wallpaper that is decorated with what some critics believe to be butterflies and flowers.[2] Some critics consider the floral decorations on the wallpaper to be Japanese motifs similar to the Japanese motifs that appear in other works of Manet's such as: The Lady with Fans: Portrait of Nina de Callias and Nana .[1]: 377
In the portrait, Mallarmé’s arm rests on a bundle of paper. Some critics suggest the stack of papers could be an allusion to the article he had recently published defending Manet and the Impressionists, or to another piece of writing such as the translation of The Raven, that artist and subject worked on together.[1] Mallarmé is dressed in a dark blue coat, and appears to be in deep contemplation, with one hand in his pocket and the other holding a cigar. Some critics believe that Manet contrasted the smoke rising from Mallarmé’s cigar with the delicate-looking Japanese designs on the wallpaper. The critics argue that this contrast generates an atmosphere within the painting that blends sensuality and reflectivity.[4]
Critics compare Manet's paint application in the Portrait of Stéphane Mallarmé to his paint application in his portrait of Duret. Critics observe that in Manet's portrait of Mallarmé, he applied the paint with a “virtuoso freeness”.[4] Further, critics contrast Duret’s stiff stance in his portrait with Mallarmé’s relaxed, seated position, asserting that his position makes the portrait seem spontaneous, informal, and pointedly modern.[4]
Background: Manet and Mallarmé
editGeorges Bataille, a French philosopher and intellectual, who was a friend of both Manet and Mallarmé remarked that the portrait, “radiates the friendship of two great minds”.[1]: 377 Mallarmé made the acquaintance of Manet in 1873, upon his arrival in Paris. Mallarmé quickly established a name for himself in Parisian society through his association with a network of influential and notable figures. Mallarmé hosted “mardis” gatherings at his apartment on the rue de Rome and invited well-known artists including Debussy, Rodin, Whistler, Renoir, and Manet.[5]: 86 Mallarmé taught English at the Lycee Fontane (currently the Lycee Condorect), and would stop, almost daily, for a chat in the late afternoon with Manet and his little circle of friends on his way home from work. [1]: 377
Mallarmé and Manet collaborated on work frequently. Manet created wood-engraved illustrations for Mallarmé's poem “Afternoon of a Faun,” (L’Après-midi d’un faune) that inspired Claude Debussy's symphonic poem of the same title. Critics have noted that the dreaminess of the Manet's Portrait of Stéphane Mallarmé is reminiscent of his illustrations for "Afternoon of a Faun".[2] Their most notable collaboration is Manet's illustrations for Mallarmé’s translation of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven.[1]
In 1874, Manet's art was criticized and rejected by the Salon jury. Mallarmé responded to Manet's rejection by writing two long articles in his defense. Mallarmé wrote an article, "Le Jury de Peinture pour 1874 et M. Manet," in the artist's defense. [1]: 379 Further, Mallarmé wrote an essay entitled, “The Impressionists and Edouard Manet,” for publication in a London magazine in 1876. Some critics speculate that this via this essay, Mallarmé "seal[ed] Manet’s reputation as the founder of Impressionism". [6]
Over the course of the last years of Manet's life, the friends met up nearly daily, and Manet's death caused Mallarmé profound sadness. In a letter to a fellow French poet Paul-Marie Verlaine, Mallarmé wrote: “I saw my dear Manet every day for ten years, and I find his absence today incredible.”[1]: 377
Collaboration: The Raven
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Mallarmé invited Manet to illustrate his translation of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven. Manet created four lithographic plates that illustrated key events in the poem. [2] Manet’s illustrations were inserted between the double pages of text.[1]: 379
The first stanza of The Raven describes the scene “upon a midnight dreary,” where the narrator, a poet, ponders over his work and hears a sudden tapping noise on his chamber door.[1]: 379 Manet's illustration of this scene is quite realistic and shows the poet at his desk beneath the lamp. Viewers have commented that the man in Manet’s illustration of this scene resembles Manet’s portrait of Mallarmé quite closely. [7]: 231 Some critics go so far as to call Manet's illustrations "images of Mallarmé himself in the role of the poet recalling his “lost Lenore.”" [1]: 384–385 Other critics speculate that the poet in Manet's illustrations appears to be a composite portrait of both Mallarmé and Poe.[8]
Manet and Mallarmé's collaboration on The Raven was not a financially successful endeavor for the artists. However, Manet's illustrations received praise; The Paris Journal commented Manet's "use of black and white media to depict the sinister bird and the interplay of abrupt silhouettes and threatening shadows." [2]
Reception
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Manet's portrait of Mallarmé has been considered by contemporaries to be the "best likeness" of Mallarmé compared to the many other portrait paintings and engravings of the poet. Paul-Marie Verlaine, a French poet associated with the Symbolist movement, published a book, Les Poetes maudits (1886), that featured a reproduction of Manet's portrait of Mallarmé as a frontispiece for a chapter on Mallarmé.[1]: 379
Ownership
editIn 1928, the portrait was acquired from Mallarmé's family by the Louvre Museum with the assistance of the Société des Amis du Louvre and D. David Weill. The small portrait resided in the Louvre Museum from 1928 to 1986; however, from 1947 to 1986, it was part of the museum's Jeu de Paume Gallery. In 1986, the painting was transferred to the Musée d'Orsay.[3]
The painting has been displayed in many exhibitions across the world, including countries like Spain, Russia, Japan, and the United States. [3]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Manet, Édouard, Françoise Cachin, Michel Melot, Charles S Moffett, Juliet Wilson-Bareau, Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, and Metropolitan Museum of Art. (1983). Manet, 1832-1883 : Galeries Nationales Du Grand Palais, Paris, April 22-August 8, 1983, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, September 10-November 27, 1983. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. pp. 377–381.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c d e Harris, James C. (2008-08-04). "Edgar Allan Poe: The Raven". Archives of General Psychiatry. 65 (8): 868. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.65.8.868. ISSN 0003-990X.
- ^ a b c "Stéphane Mallarmé - | Musée d'Orsay". www.musee-orsay.fr. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
- ^ a b c Hanson, Anne Coffin (2017-10-31), "Manet's Picture Construction", Manet and the Modern Tradition, Yale University Press, doi:10.37862/aaeportal.00079.018, ISBN 978-0-300-23586-9, retrieved 2024-11-22
- ^ Apter, Emily (2010). Constructing Charisma: Celebrity, Fame, and Power in Nineteenth-Century Europe (NED - New edition, 1 ed.). Berghahn Books. ISBN 978-0-85745-815-5.
- ^ Armstrong, Carol (2017-10-23), "Modernity According to Manet: Impressionism at the Salon, 1874 to 1879", Manet Manette, Yale University Press, ISBN 978-0-300-23440-4, retrieved 2024-11-12
- ^ Harris, Jean C. (1967). "Edouard Manet as an Illustrator". Philadelphia Museum of Art Bulletin. 62 (293): 223–235. doi:10.2307/3795194. ISSN 0031-7314.
- ^ Jullien, Dominique (2014-07-03). "Translation as illustration: the visual paradigm in Mallarmé's translations of Poe". Word & Image. 30 (3): 249–260. doi:10.1080/02666286.2014.938531. ISSN 0266-6286.
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