George Moore dans le jardin de l’artiste (c.1879)

Manet, Édouard (1832-1883)

George Moore dans le jardin de l’artiste (George Moore in the Artist’s Garden)
c.1879
Oil on canvas, 54.6 x 45.1 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington

A pale-skinned young man with a carrot-red beard and hair faces us, straddling a green chair in a sunny outdoor setting in this vertical painting. The scene is loosely painted so his features are indistinct. His eyes are painted as pale blue dots, and he looks out at us. His chair unfolds into an X shape, with interlacing slats to make the seat. He leans forward to rest his hands on one side of the chair, and his legs are spread wide. He wears a marine-blue jacket over a white shirt, sage-green trousers streaked with gray, and black shoes. A soft blue V-shape at the neck suggests a neckerchief. Behind him, a half wall is topped by a trellis. The wall is painted in muted tones of pale laurel green while the trellis is painted with crisscrossed strokes of pine green. Daubs of emerald, pine, and forest green suggest vines and leaves, and flicks of orange, gold, and blue could be flowers. The ground beneath the man is pale peach scattered with thin scribbles and patches of fog blue. The painting is inscribed with “E 72.” in the lower right. (NGA)

See also:

• Moore, George Augustus (1852-1933)