Jeanne (Spring), 1881, Édouard Manet, oil on canvas
The J. Paul Getty Museum
Transcript
NARRATOR: Manet first exhibited the painting Jeanne, or Spring, at the 1882 Salon to wide acclaim. “She is not a woman, she is a bouquet, truly a visual perfume,” said one critic.
SCOTT ALLAN: Manet very much saw this painting as not simply a portrait of a model but really a representation of a social type, the Parisienne, which was sort of the world-famous icon of chic, youthful, feminine beauty, up to speed on all the latest fashions and accessories, and Manet took these things very seriously.
NARRATOR: Manet took control of every aspect of the portrayal. Curator Scott Allan.
SCOTT ALLAN: This light tone day dress that she’s wearing, the long suede gloves, the dainty parasol, the bonnet, these are all things that Manet had a direct hand in composing for the picture.
NARRATOR: We know from infrared imaging that as Manet worked, he narrowed her waist, repositioned her bent arm, and lowered the parasol’s shaft. Just to the left of her face, a bright green area contrasts sharply with her skin tone and red lips. This is where Manet painted over alterations to her profile, trying to capture the perfect snub nose, or nez retroussé, a sign of a true Parisienne.
Underneath it all, Manet used a semitransparent green wash, a layer of oil paint thinned with turpentine, to prep the canvas. The technique was traditional, the color green was not.
EMILY BEENY: In the lower right corner where we see that thin green wash shine through between more robust strokes of oil paint we get glimmers of the preparation layer, so just the canvas before he actually began to paint on it.
NARRATOR: In the lower left corner, Manet added a light beige color. The off-white paint, actually built in several layers, is meant to give the illusion of the bare canvas and disguise revisions in the sitter’s bodice.
EMILY BEENY: This is a huge pattern in Manet’s work across the board, but becomes increasingly pronounced in the last years of his life as he seems to be more and more eager to lay claim to the title of the father of impressionism.