Boating is an oil-on-canvas painting by French artist Édouard Manet. The painting depicts a man and woman on a sailboat during the summertime. It was painted during in the summer of 1874, during which time Manet was staying on his family's property in Gennevilliers.[1] While the identity of the woman is fully confirmed, Rodolphe Leenhoff is often credited with being the man in the painting (among other of Manet's paintings). Leenhoff is Manet's brother-in-law.[2]
Boating is often cited as Manet's foray into Impressionism. Most often, Manet's pallet, brushwork and subject matter are used as examples to prove this painting has impressionist ties.[3] While Manet did not call himself an impressionist, he often showed his paintings in galleries with other impressionists. He was friends with many artists of time who did consider themselves to be a part of the impressionist movement.[4]
The work was shown in the Salon of 1879. Mary Mathews Gedo, a former clinical psychologist turned art historian has described Boating as "quintessentially Monet Esque".[5] It is currently displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City in Gallery 818.[2]
Background
Argenteuil (Manet) painted in 1874
Throughout his career, Manet was infatuated with the ocean, painting different depictions over two decades. John Leighton, an art historian associated Manet's impressions of the sea as "the spontaneity of Impressionism, but the immediacy...masks a long process of revision and refinement".[6] Manet's work often captures intense moments, where everything in his paintings are deliberate. Painting seascapes, for Manet, was a freeing experience, and it can show. This is the case during his 1874 trip to Argenteuil.
During the summer of 1874, Manet was working on many paintings including Boating and its sister painting, Argenteuil (Manet). The techniques that were used in Boating were new to Manet. During this time in his life, Manet was obsessed with impressionist ideas of capturing everyday life. He found interest in the mundane.[7] This, along with Manet's lifelong interest in the water spawned other impressionist works.
Description and analysis
Boating is considered one of the most important impressionist paintings that Manet had painted. It depicts a young couple sailing on a beautiful sunny summer day in France. It is the epitome of summer. Radiographs have revealed that the painting was worked on many different times, leading art historians to believe that he worked on it both outdoors on the boat as well as in his studio. He gave close attention to the poses, changing the man's pose many times before having the final version shown.[5]
In Boating, Manet introduced various new techniques as well as using novel ones. One new technique used was the framing. According to Stéphane Mallarmé, a French poet and critic, he argued that Manet's use of framing (inspired by Japanese artists) really defines the scene as a whole.[8] Other techniques used including using higher-keyed coloration, freer brush strokes, and intense colors with dark backgrounds. It is argued that these newer techniques are due to Manet increasing the amount of time he spent with younger impressionists of the time.[4]
Figures
Luncheon on the Grass, one of the first depictions of Leenhoff posing for Manet
The man shown is Rodolphe Leenhoff, brother-in-law to Manet. Leenhoff himself was a sculptor. He has been known to pose for Manet often, first appearing on Luncheon on the Grass. At the time of painting Luncheon on the Grass, Manet and Leenhoff were not yet related, as Manet had not met Suzanne Manet. Manet was known to annoy his models, as he preferred natural poses. However, models wanted to use academic poses they had learned to show off their talents. This often lead to Manet struggling to find models.[8]
The woman depicted has been debated for years. Originally, the woman was thought to be Mme. Manet due to the hat she is wearing. This hat has been depicted in many other of Manet's works as being worn by Mme. Manet. However the woman in boating has dark black hair and brown eyes, dissimilar to Mme. Monet. It is now believed that the hat was selected to be worn from Mme. Manet's collection. Today, Art Historians like Mary Matthews Gedo believe that the woman in both Boating and Argenteuil is Camille Monet. The fasciation with hats was due to Manet's fascination with being a "hat man", often enjoying portraying women in lavish clothing and interesting hats.[5]
Influences
Claude Monet
Monet's studio boat, as painted by Claude Monet in 1873.
Both contemporaries and friends, Manet was often inspired by Claude Monet's work and unique style. An impressionist himself, both Monet and Manet's works have been shown side by side for centuries. Inspired by Monet's ability to paint on his floating studio, Manet wanted to paint the famous impressionist on the floating studio along with Monet's wife Camille Monet. This idea, however proved harder to achieve. Manet sourced other models and then painted both Argenteuil and Boating without Monet or Camille.[3][9]
Japonisme
Portrait of Emile Zola (1868) is an example of the beginning of Japanese arts influence on European art. Manet inserted a full Japanese painting into this painting of Zola, a critique.
Along with many painters of the time, Manet was influenced by various types of art, most importantly the art that was produced by Japan, a technique called Japonisme. This art flowed into France during the latter half of the nineteenth century.[10] Some important qualities that Manet picked up included two-dimensional composition, lighter coloring, and cropping of the field of view. In Boating, Manet purposely cut off the boat where the two figures are sitting, a tool used by Japanese artists. Some of the colors including the harsh blue in the water is also Japanese inspired.[3]
Ownership
After the showing in the Salon of 1879, Boating was sold directly to Gil Blas Victor Desfosses, a banker and art collector. The picture was then lent to Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) where Mary Cassatt saw the painting and called it "the last word in painting".[2]
The painting was acquired by Cassatt's close friends Lousie and H. O. Havemeyer, who donated the painting to The Met upon their deaths.[2]
Bourdieu, Pierre (2017). Manet: A Symbolic Revolution. Polity Press. ISBN978-1-5095-0009-3.
Cachin, Françoise (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. Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN978-0-8109-1346-2.
Gedo, Mary Mathews (2010). Monet and His Muse: Camille Monet in the Artist's Life. University of Chicago Press. ISBN978-0-226-28480-4.
Herbert, Robert L. (1988). Impressionism: Art, Leisure, and Parisian Society. Yale University Press. ISBN978-0-300-04262-7.
Kloner, Jay Martin (1968). The Influence of Japanese Prints on Edouard Manet and Paul Gauguin (Thesis). ProQuest302318443.
Leighton, John (2004). Edouard Manet: Impressions of the Sea. Van Gogh Museum. ISBN978-2-930117-31-7.
