Edouard Manet (1832-1883), Le Printemps
oil on canvas, 29 1/8 x 20 1/4 in. (74 x 51.5 cm.), painted in 1881
Getty Museum acquires Manet’s ‘Spring (Le Printemps)’ The J. Paul Getty Museum has acquired Édouard Manet’s ‘Spring (Le Printemps)’, 1881. The painting was bought at an auction that took place at Christie’s on Wednesday, November 5, for $65,125,000 (£41,028,750 / €52,100,000), an auction record for Manet.]]>
November 7, 2014, source: Getty Museum / Christie’s
“Le Printemps” is a portrait of Parisian actress Jeanne Demarsy (1865-1937) as the embodiment of spring. Manet intended it as the first of a series of the four seasons representing fashionable Parisian women. However, he lived long enough only to complete two of the series: Spring and Autumn (Musée des Beaux-Arts, Nancy).
“Spring” was exhibited in the 1882 Paris Salon along with Manet’s celebrated masterwork “Un Bar aux Folies-Bergère”, 1882 (Courtauld Gallery, London). “Spring” was perhaps the most unalloyed success of Manet’s long and notorious Salon career. Critics found Jeanne utterly charming and exquisite—a highlight of Manet’s career, in which he took great pride. Having been in the collection of the same family for more than a century, the 29-by-20-inch-painting is in exceptionally fine condition.
“Spring was the last of Manet’s Salon paintings still in private hands, and universally recognized as one of his great masterpieces,” said Timothy Potts, director of the J. Paul Getty Museum. “It is a work of extraordinary quality and beauty, epitomizing Manet’s influential conception of modernity, and executed at the height of his artistic powers—but, tragically, when he was already afflicted with the illness that would soon lead to his early death. Although he did not consider himself an Impressionist, Manet was intimately associated with that circle of artists, and this painting will make a spectacular addition to our Impressionist/ Post-Impressionist gallery.”
“This is a true masterpiece with an exceptional history, from its first viewing at the Paris Salon to Washington D.C.’s National Gallery of Art, where it has been on loan for the past two decades,” noted Brooke Lampley, Head of Impressionist and Modern Art for Christie’s Americas. “It is fitting that one of our finest American museums would now acquire it for their permanent collection, where it can continue to be enjoyed by the public within the context of the museum’s rich Impressionist holdings. We couldn’t be more pleased to officially announce this exciting news with the Getty today.”
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