Manet’s Advertisement An understanding of Vue de l’Exposition Universel

An understanding of Vue de lExposition Universelle, capital of France 1867Manet a toujours reconnu le talent l o il se trouve et na prtendu ni renverser une ancienne peinture ni en crer une nouvelle. Il a cherch simplement tre lui-mme et non un autre.Edouard Manet, Motifs dune exposition particulire, May 1867 (in Courthion 139) Manet is a transitional painter, emerging from the pragmatism of the early to mid nineteenth century and a precursor to included in by some authors the impressionist movement. The publics fascination with his operation is remarkable. But, as much as his work is appreciated today, he has been criticized and misunderstood by his contemporaries. His radical explorations in composition and representation made him an easy laughingstock for unfavorable critics. He has been accused of leaving his paintings unfinished, of not being able to compose, of lack of imagination and even of vulgarity (Hanson, Howard, Mainardi, others). His position as part of the kins hip group of eccentrics (Chesneau q. in Mainardi 109) has kept Manet out of the conservative catalog of the Fine humanities section of the Exposition Universelle of 1867 in Paris. Since, in the artists words, montrer est la fountainhead vitale, le sine qua non pour lartiste (in Courthion 140), he was forced to prepare his own show to display his work to the very important public brought to Paris by the world fair. So, he and Courbet borrowed money and set up on the Place de lAlma, right on the path leading from the Salon at the Place de lIndustrie to the Exposition Universelle on the Champ de Mars (Mainardi 109). It is in this ambiance of optimistic defiance that Manet produced Vue de lExposition Universelle, Paris 1867 , his illustration of the fair. ... ...er Levin Associates, 1988 Hanson, Anne Coffin. Manet and the sophisticated Tradition. New Haven Yale U. Press, 1977 Howard, Seymour. Early Manet and Artful Error Foundations of Anti-Illusion in Modern Painting in Art Journal . New York College Art Association of America. Vol. 37, Fall 1977 14-21 LExposition universelle de 1867 guide de lexposant et du visiteur, avec les documents officiels, un plan et une vue de lExposition. Paris Exposition universelle de 1867, 1866 Lillustration. 6 Avril 1867 Mainardi, Patricia. Edouard Manets View of the Universal Exposition of 1867 in Arts Magazine. 54(5), January 1980 108-115 Reff, Theodore, ed. Manet and modern Paris one hundred paintings, drawings, prints, and photographs by Manet and his contemporaries. Washington National Gallery of Art, 1982 The Illustrated London News. 6 July, 1867