Nana Édouard Manet (1832-1883)

Description of Eduard Manet’s painting Nana

According to A. Proust, Édouard Manet was endowed with a remarkable sharpness; he extracted very many unusual observations from ordinary city walks; no other French capital knew such flâneurs. In 1876, the artist was completely absorbed in thoughts of the Salon, only thinking about his exhibition. The author easily painted the streets of Paris, cafes, portraits, naked women, etc.. It was this spectacle and the author’s style that attracted many new innovators.

That same year, at the exhibition, the artist decided to present to the jury the painting "Nana" - the toilet of the lady of the half-woman. Many viewers think that the canvas painted in the style of Impressionism, but the author himself does not think so! Very interesting fact is that the image in the picture is inspired by thoughts of incidents with Mary of an intimate nature, although he did not paint her. The creator’s model was Henrietta, who was a famous woman of the time. She was also the mistress of the Prince of Orange. The painting depicts a woman of easy virtue in a satin corset of blue hue and a white shirt.

The artist chose this particular title for his spectacular work of art because Nana was the most famous name among women of this type. The creator very well showed her perky face, flexible waist, as behind her waiting gentleman with a cane in an elegant suit and cylinder. On this canvas, Manet shows how much the experience he gained during his travels and studies changed him, he learned the lessons of Impressionism perfectly. But the artist made it clear that he immediately assimilated this lesson and created his new method, adjusting Impressionism to his own method. It was for this reason that when Manet was tried for the title of Impressionist, he reacted very sharply! Throughout his years, Édouard Manet created many creations. He uniquely portrayed portraits, amazing poses of figures and their movements. He captured all of this with unusual strokes. In the artist’s canvas it is easy to read the psychology of the picture, to feel the artist himself. The creator was able to convey to the viewer the character and state of the hero in just a few strokes.