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Edouard Manet, 'Music in the Tuileries Gardens', 1862

About the work

Overview

A fashionable and wealthy crowd that includes many artists and intellectuals has gathered in the Tuileries Gardens to listen to one of the twice-weekly concerts given there. Manet himself stands at the far left of the picture holding a cane, his body cut by the edge of the canvas and partly obscured by the man in front of him, the animal painter Comte Albert de Balleroy. He is a participant in the scene but also slightly detached from it.

Painted in 1862, this was Manet’s first major painting of contemporary life in Second Empire Paris (1852–1870) and is an early example of his interest in urban leisure, a subject that would preoccupy him for the rest of his life, as it would the Impressionists. But it is also a group portrait of Manet and his family, friends and associates.

The painting has the status of an artistic manifesto and has justifiably been described as the earliest example of modern painting due to its subject matter and technique.

Key facts

Details

Full title
Music in the Tuileries Gardens
Artist
Edouard Manet
Artist dates
1832 - 1883
Date made
1862
Medium and support
oil on canvas
Dimensions
76.2 × 118.1 cm
Inscription summary
Signed; Dated
Acquisition credit
Sir Hugh Lane Bequest, 1917, The National Gallery, London. In partnership with Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin.
Inventory number
NG3260
Location
On loan: Long Loan to The Hugh Lane (2019 - 2026) (Group B), Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane, Dublin, Ireland
Collection
Main Collection
Frame
20th-century Replica Frame

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

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