Édouard Manet is known and celebrated today for being pioneer of the Impressionist movement in 19th Century France. He was born in Paris in 1832 and grew up in an affluent family with ties in politics. He was expected to pursue a career in law, but instead decided to explore the world of art. After years of training with Thomas Couture in Paris, he began his art career. Through his years of work, he produced many famous and well-known pieces of art, such as Olympia in 1863, and Le Dejeuner sur l’herbe in 1863. ‘Le Balcon’ is another one of Manet’s most celebrated paintings. Painted in 1868, it was first presented to the public at the Paris Salon in 1869. In my essay, I will analyse the form of the painting, and examine what Manet possibly hoped to represent through this piece.
While analysing a painting, the viewer must consider what category it could belong to. In the 19th Century the subject matter of art was very important, as it denoted the importance and in turn, the value of the piece. “The Academy deemed that only “history painting” was great painting. These young Realists and Impressionists opened the door to dismantling this hierarchy of subject matter.” (Gersh-Nesic, n.d.) Le Balcon could be labelled a genre painting, in which it depicts contemporary life in France at the time. Impressionist paintings were revolutionary for this reason, as they showed us scenes of modern life in Paris at the time, painting ordinary life rather than royal portraits or historical scenes. There are many aspects of this painting which allude to the modern life; the clothing of the ladies, the balcony scene of modern Paris, and the casual nature in which the people are displayed. In 1869, Paris was a new city – redesigned by Baron Haussmann. The namesake of the piece, ‘the Balcony’ is a characteristic of Haussmann’s classic design. The persons in the painting are likely looking out onto a brand-new city, with sparkling limestone walls, gas lamps lining the streets, a bustling centre to France. Though this is only implied: the painting takes the form of a closed composition – the viewer feels as though they are outside the scene looking into the balcony. Behind the balcony sit three of Manet’s acquaintances – the artist Berthe Morisot, another artist Antoine Guillemet, and violinist Fanny Claus. This group of people are clearly belonging to the upper class, dressed in fashionable, current clothing. The women are wearing white, sheer dresses, with tasteful accessories such as Claus’ gloves and parasol, and Morisot’s ribbon choker necklace. There is a sense of leisure in the painting: the people in the piece seem to be relaxing and observing their surroundings.
In fact, each person is looking in a different direction: Morisot looks broodingly to the left of the piece, Guillemet looks upwards into the distance, and Claus seems to gaze past the viewer. In this way, these people are disconnected from each other, as they do not interact, but simply exist in the frame of the balcony together, as if they were still-life objects. Therefore, while there is clearly a message here, it is not immediately obvious as to what the message is. This frustrated the critics of the time, who could not see the importance of a painting which didn’t seem to tell a story. Paintings and portraiture of the high class were not unusual, but they usually had meaning behind them. Today, the meaning is easier to understand, as we are not limited by hierarchies of art. In ‘The Balcony’, the balcony in question depicts a sort of barrier between interior and exterior. The disconnect between the people, and the outside world, and furthermore, the disconnect between artist and critic. While the painting received negative reception at the time, contemporary art such as this, and others by Manet developed the first paintings of Modernism.
The use of colour in The Balcony is also important in analysis. The Balcony scene itself is a clear reference to Francisco Goya, and his piece ‘Majas on the Balcony’. Both paintings depict balcony scenes, each with four figures. However, the use of colour contrasts in these paintings separates them and distinguishes Manet’s Balcony as an impressionist piece. While Goya’s Balcony uses muted colours that work harmoniously, Manet uses a striking contrast in colours. The bold, vibrant green of the railing and shutters catches the eye of the viewer immediately, alongside the bright white dresses of the ladies. This white colour is visually striking against the dark, shadowy colours used for the interior. Manet employs the use of accent colours, such as the bold blue of Guillemet’s tie, Claus’ yellow gloves, and Morisot’s red fan. Visually, this was a shocking piece to critics, and even viewers today. Impressionist art such as this plays with colour – instead of using harmonious, visually pleasing colour combinations, contrasting colours are used to catch the eye of the viewer. Contemporary critics deemed the piece unaesthetically pleasing, and when unveiled to the Paris Salon in 1869, famous caricaturist Cham (Amédée de Noé) sarcastically exclaimed ‘Close the shutters!’**
Furthermore, Manet’s use of colour seems to draw attention away from what was deemed at the time the most important aspect of the painting – the human figures. The viewers attention is drawn to the smaller detailed objects, such as the delicate blue hydrangea in the left of the piece, and the small dog at Morisot’s feet. In fact, it seems as though Manet has put more detail into this flower than he has the faces of Guillemet or Claus. Additionally, the interior of the building beyond the shutters is obscured. Here, there is a fourth figure, suggested to be Manet’s son, Léon. The rest of the interior however lacks detail or is possibly considered ‘unfinished’. This once again would have frustrated art critics – to intentionally leave an area of a painting obscured or undetailed could have been seen as disrespectful to the viewers. This was a commonly used technique in impressionism and is employed here in order to bring focus to the balcony scene in the foreground. However, this was not appreciated at the time. German critic Albert Wolff was particularly harsh in his review, describing it as ‘coarse art’ ‘at the level of house painters.’** This odd stylistic choice seems to have once again been intentional, in an attempt to fight the standards set in place by critics and the Academy.
Throughout the years of his art career, Manet never seemed to please the critics of the time. While other impressionist artists chose to set up independent expeditions, Manet continued to submit his artworks to the French Salon.