Figure 1.--The painting here is an exquisite portrait of "Boy with a Sword" painted in 1861. The model for this famous painting was Leon Koella-Leenhoff, who may have been Manet's own son. The boy is painted in a 17th century cavalier scene. |
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Manet did two famous portraits of children. Both employ the techquiqe of providing no background to complicate the image. One painting is an exquisite portrait of "Boy with a Sword" painted in 1861. . The model for this famous painting was Leon Koella-Leenhoff, who may have been Manet's own son. He was born to Manet's wife before their marriage and appears in more of Manet's pictures than any other member of the family. He is better known, however, for his painting of a smartly uniformed boy--"The Fifer". It is a great masterpiece of French art.
Manet did two famous portraits of children. Both employ the techquiqe of providing no background to complicate the image, a technique Manet reportedly admired in Velazquez.
One painting is an exquisite portrait of "Boy with a Sword" painted in 1861. The model for this famous painting was Leon Koella-Leenhoff, who may have been Manet's own son. He was born to Manet's wife before their marriage and appears in more of Manet's pictures than any other member of the family.
Manet is better known, however, for his painting of a smartly uniformed boy--"The Fifer" (figure 1). It is a great masterpiece of French art. Some art critiques see a Japanese influence. I am not sure what the portrait represents. Does the boy depict a fifer from the French Army or is he a fifer in a vullage band. What ever he dpicts, Manet has left us with an arresting image. Notice the hands and mouth. You can almost hear the music lofting out of the canvas. Few who see this image can leave with out wanring to no more about the boy.
This painting is less well know than the other two mentioned here, but it employs the same device of not using a background.
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