Manet, Édouard (1832-1883)
Le fumeur (The Smoker)
1866
Oil on canvas, 100.3 x 81.3 cm
Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis
This working-class character was one of many ordinary Parisians painted by Manet in the 1860s. A year before making this portrait, Manet had traveled to Madrid, Spain, where he was reportedly enchanted by the naturalistic depictions of common people painted by Diego Velázquez in the 1600s. Manet emulated the Spanish master in his own series of everyday scenes while adding a modern twist: elevating the images to the impressive scale of a formal portrait. (MIA)