Jeune Homme en costume de majo (1863)

Manet, Édouard (1832-1883)

Jeune Homme en costume de majo (Young Man in Costume of Majo)
1863
Oil on canvas, 188 x 124.8 cm
Metropolitan Museum of ArtNew York

For this image of one of the dashing young Spaniards known as majos, Manet‘s younger brother Gustave donned the same trousers and bolero jacket worn by model Victorine Meurent in Mademoiselle V. . . in the Costume of an Espada (29.100.53). Rejected from the Salon of 1863, both paintings were included in the Salon des Refusés that same year. Manet‘s robust brushwork and bold color were admired by most critics, but some complained that the majo lacked psychological characterization, the artist having rendered his face and hands with no more attention than the details of his costume. (MET)