The Balcony
1868-1869
Manet cheekily riffed on Goya’s 'Majas on a Balcony' for this scene, swapping Spanish beauties for his own bohemian circle. The seated woman is fellow painter Berthe Morisot, looking intensely bored in a blinding white dress, while her friend stands stiffly with a parasol. Critics at the 1869 Salon were baffled by the flat composition, with one calling it 'the most bizarre thing imaginable' because the bright figures look pasted against the dark interior. Look closely at the bottom for a tiny dog and a potted hydrangea, adding a touch of life to this famously stiff social tableau.
- Technique
- Oil painting
- Material
- Canvas
Location: Musée d'Orsay, Paris
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