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The Spanish Singer

1860
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 810
This painting, which reflects the Parisian vogue for Spanish art and culture during the Second Empire, won Manet his first popular and critical success in his debut at the Salon of 1861. Though the picture was admired for its realistic detail, Manet did not disguise the fact that it was composed in a studio using a model and props. The left-handed singer holds a guitar strung for a right-handed player, and his fingering suggests that he was unfamiliar with the instrument. His outfit was fashioned from costumes that Manet kept on hand; several accessories reappear in paintings in this gallery.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Spanish Singer
  • Artist: Edouard Manet (French, Paris 1832–1883 Paris)
  • Date: 1860
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 58 x 45 in. (147.3 x 114.3 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Gift of William Church Osborn, 1949
  • Object Number: 49.58.2
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

Audio

Cover Image for 6144. The Spanish Singer, Part 1

6144. The Spanish Singer, Part 1

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NARRATOR—Manet made his debut at the Salon of 1861 with this remarkable painting. The format is taken directly from some of the most celebrated portraits by Velazquez.The Spanish painters Velazquez and Goya had been very much in vogue in France since at least the 1840s, and here Manet had appropriated their subject matter as well as their composition and technique. As in Velazquez, the figure of the singer is silhouetted against a featureless brown background. It does not recede into depth, but pushes forward, close to the picture plane. Manet has also adapted the restrained color scheme and painterly bravura of the Spanish masters.The colors here are largely confined to a somber range of blacks, whites and earth tones. Manet’s great painterly ability is evident in the brilliant brushwork that enlivens his sober palette.Notice the luscious fluidity of paint in the singer's gray trousers and in the luminous white of the shirt and headscarf.

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More Artwork

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Cat and Flowers
Edouard Manet (French, Paris 1832–1883 Paris)
1869
The Smoker (Le Fumeur)
Edouard Manet (French, Paris 1832–1883 Paris)
1866–67
Boy with Soap Bubbles
Edouard Manet (French, Paris 1832–1883 Paris)
1867–69
The Smoker (Le Fumeur)
Edouard Manet (French, Paris 1832–1883 Paris)
1879–82
The Water Drinker
Edouard Manet (French, Paris 1832–1883 Paris)
1870–74

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