Jeanne (Spring) by Edouard Manet
Movement / period – Impressionism
Artist – Édouard Manet (French, 1832 - 1883)
Title – Jeanne (Spring)
Date – 1881
Medium – Oil on canvas
Dimensions – 74 × 51.5 cm
In one of his late paintings titled Spring, Édouard Manet portrays a Parisian actress Jeanne Demarsy as a symbol and embodiment of spring, a season associated with flowers and rebirth of nature. At the same time, the painter tries to interpret the latest Parisian fashion relating to the classical traditions of portraiture that were formed in the Renaissance. Therefore, the main idea of this painting is to show similarities and connections between the beauty of woman and nature in spring employing a wide range of artistic techniques and principles.
The focal point of this painting is the woman’s face that immediately attracts the attention of the viewer. It is achieved not only through making the head of the woman the center of the composition but also via creatively using the contrasts. The black ribbon of the hat adds a frame within a frame tenderly outlining the contour of the woman’s face. Her dark hair that slightly covers her forehead performs the same function emphasizing the face of the woman as a logical center of the painting. The woman does not look at the viewer. Indeed, her gaze is directed ahead of her. However, her hazel eyes and a tiny spot at the corner of her mouth make the viewer examine her face with a great interest. The posture of the woman is traditional and common in a variety of different portraits, but this painting by Manet is innovative in terms of using color schemes, lines, and specific brushstroke styles.
To communicate his ideas to the audience, Manet also relies on an inventive and powerful combination of colors that makes this painting a true masterpiece. The woman is depicted on the background of lush foliage. It consists of trees and bushes of various colors and leaves shapes. Although Manet does not paint the foliage in detail, he uses numerous shades of green to show the diversity of the leaves and even their movement in the wind as the brushstrokes imitate how they tremble in the air. Being mainly green with slight bluish shades closer to the bottom of the painting, the foliage is sometimes divided by brown colored branches that do not allow it to look too monotonous. It is also very interesting how Manet chose the color for natural objects (trees and bushes) and the clothes of the woman. They have much in common – the woman’s hat is decorated with flowers and her dress has an elegant floral pattern. Though, his choice helped the artist to show the difference between nature and the refined “civilized” Parisian chic. The most important part of her costume is the resemblance of specifically chosen and combined colors to nature. She has perfect beige suede gloves that are matched with the parasol of the same color and the ribbons on her hat.
The idea about the contrast between natural and “civilized” beauty is also shown with the help of lines. In fact, they are almost invisible in the background, except for the dark branches. However, in contrast to natural detail, everything that relates to the woman’s dress is full of bold lines. Fortunately, they do not produce any aggressive impression. Probably, the most important are the implied lines created by the black ribbons of the woman’s hat. They help the artist to establish the focal point of the painting and separate the woman’s face from nature. Even though the lines of the branches are organic, a majority of them that form the woman’s outfit are not. They are not curved in accordance with nature’s laws but follow the ideas of the dressmakers and milliners. An important role is played by the stick of the parasol that is straight and thick in contrast to other natural lines.
This painting is also an impressive illustration which represent the broad range of brushwork techniques of Manet . The brushstrokes on Jeanne’s face are tender and almost transparent. This approach makes the woman’s face realistic and natural. It is almost a three-dimensional drawing which focuses the audience’s attention on the gentle color of her skin and extraordinary eyes that twinkle in the sunlight. The brushstrokes intensify the representation of various objects on the picture. For instance, the strokes on the woman’s gloves are rounded to repeat the shape of her hands. A similar effect can be seen on the beige lace of the hat that looks ruffled due to the roughness of the brushstrokes. While depicting the floral pattern of the dress, Manet barely touched the canvas with his brush. As a result, the tiny flowers look very fragile. On the foliage background, the brushstrokes are done in a sketchy-like manner. It is very difficult to understand what functions and meanings the artist wants to create because his techniques makes a unified atmosphere that reflects the energy and diversity of nature.
To conclude, Jeanne (Spring) by Manet is a tribute to the beauty of the woman and nature. However, the artist also focuses on the contrasts between these two notions. To show the differences between them, he uses specific color schemes, lines, and brushstrokes for each part of the painting. This complex and innovative approach makes Manet’s work a masterpiece where thematic content includes perfectly the artistic techniques and methods.
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