Manet Art Exhibition "Manet and Modern Beauty" recently held in Chicago Art Museum mainly displays Manet's works in his later years. How does MANET's works express the beauty of modernity?
Working spring (parts) 188 1
First, the painter's creation is inseparable from the influence of social background.
In MANET's later years, French society experienced the Franco-Prussian War, and was in an era of alternation between the old and the new. The Second Empire of France fell, the Third Republic of France was founded, and France gradually recovered from the war.
The connotation expressed in MANET's works is related to its social, political and economic environment. With his super sensitivity and observation, he has created many works that show the "coffee shop culture". For MANET, the cafe is the place where a new life begins. So his works have modern beauty.
Work Freedom-Berger Bar (Part) 1882
Second, Manet's "feminism" in his later works.
"Skirts and flowers" make people think of women at a glance, which is also the theme of MANET's works. In his later years, due to serious illness and exhaustion, Manet began to paint flowers, still life and fashionable women.
For example, the poster of Spring, the main work of this exhibition, depicts what a fashionable woman is thinking in the garden. The women's clothes and accessories in the painting all express a sense of modernity. The whole painting is bright in color and pleasant in style.
Work "Concert in Cafe" (Part) 1879
However, it is not enough to understand the modern beauty of Manet's works only by paying attention to the relaxed and happy feelings expressed in his later years. We should also see the presentation and analysis of his works to the society at that time.
The soft-looking flowers and women's skirts can also reflect the painter's thinking and criticism of society and life. This is the ultimate expression of modern beauty in MANET's works.