Manet / Degas (Musée d'Orsay, 2023)

Edgar Degas (1834–1917) : Jeune femme à l’Ibis, 1857–58. Huile sur toile. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Etats-Unis. © The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Édouard Manet (1832–1883) : Berthe Morisot étendue. 1873. Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris XVIe. Huile sur toile. Height: 26 cm (10.2 in); width: 34 cm (13.3 in). 6086 (Musée Marmottan Monet). Morisot was Manet's muse.

Manet / Degas
From 28 March to July 23rd, 2023.
    Chief Curator: Laurence des Cars, President – Director of the Louvre Museum
    Curators in Paris:
Isolde Pludermacher, Chief Curator of Painting at the Musée d'Orsay
Stéphane Guégan, Scientific Advisor to the President of the Musée d'Orsay and the Musée de l'Orangerie
    Curators in New York:
Stephan Wolohojian, John Pope-Hennessy Curator in Charge of the Department of European Paintings, The Metropolitan Museum of Arts
Ashley E. Dunn, Curator of Graphic Arts, The Metropolitan Museum of Arts

Musée d'Orsay
Esplanade Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Esplanade du Musée d'Orsay
62 rue de la Lille
Rue de la Légion d'Honneur
7 quai Anatole France
75007 Paris

Visited on Thursday, 13 April 2023.

Musée d'Orsay : "Édouard Manet (1832–1883) and Edgar Degas (1834–1917) both played a pivotal role in the new painting of the 1860s-80s. This exhibition, which brings together the two painters in the light of their contrasts, forces us to take a new look at their real bond. It shows the heterogeneous and conflicting nature of pictorial modernity and reveals the value of Degas’ collection, in which Manet occupied a larger place after the latter’s death."

"A comparison of artists as crucial as Manet and Degas should not be limited to identifying the similarities in their respective bodies of work. Admittedly, there is no lack of analogies among these key players in the new painting of the 1860s-80s when it comes to the subjects they imposed (from horse races to café scenes, from prostitution to the tub), the genres they reinvented, the realism they opened to other formal and narrative potentialities, the market and the collectors they managed to tame, and the places (cafés, theaters) and circles, whether comprised of family (Berthe Morisot) or friends, where they crossed paths."

"Before and after the birth of Impressionism, which the exhibition looks at in a new light, what differentiated or opposed them is even more striking. From dissimilar backgrounds and with different temperaments, they did not share the same tastes in literature and music. Their divergent choices in terms of exhibitions and career cooled the budding friendship that bound them from 1873–1874 – a friendship strengthened by their shared experience of the Franco-Prussian war of 1870 and the aftermath of the Commune. The quest for recognition of the former with the stubborn refusal of the latter to use the official channels of legitimization defy comparison. While, if we consider the private sphere, once the years of youth were over, everything divided them. Manet's sociability, which was very open and soon quite brilliant, and his domestic choices were matched by Degas' secret existence and his restricted entourage."

"In Degas, Danse, Dessin, where Manet is much talked about, Paul Valéry speaks of these "marvelous coexistences" that border on dissonant chords. By bringing Manet and Degas together in the light of their contrasts, and showing how much they defined each other by differentiating themselves, this exhibition, rich with masterpieces never before brought together and an unprecedented partnership, forces us to take a new look at the ephemeral bond and lasting rivalry of two giants. The exhibition circuit also highlights the conflicting, heterogeneous and unforeseen aspects of pictorial modernity, at its point of emergence, its rise and its subsequent success. Finally, it shows the true value of Degas’ art collection, in which Manet took a more and more commanding place following his death. Death had reconciled them."

"This exhibition is organized by the Musée d'Orsay and the Musée de l'Orangerie and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York where it will be presented from September 2023 to January 2024."

AA: After having witnessed a display of one decade in the friendly rivalry between Matisse and Picasso at the Orangerie (in the Matisse in the 1930s exhibition) it is now possible to experience a full career-long comparative survey between two giants of the previous century: Éduard Manet and Edgar Degas at the Musée d'Orsay.

Manet and Degas were contemporaries, but where Manet died already in 1883, Degas survived to witness the First World War.

Both artists created severe portraits of their parental families. We must look hard to find signs of love in them. The parents seem to stare at their sons in a spirit of accusation. They seem to condemn them and find that they are wasting their lives. Degas was able to convey barely hidden family sorrow also in group portraits such as the one about the Bellille family.

Both excelled in large size classical subjects like Semiramis (Degas) or the Crucifixion (Manet) and created memorable portraits (Degas on Tissot, Manet on Zola). Both were drawn to the circle of the generous patroness of the arts Berthe Morisot and painted porraits and group portraits focusing on the wonderful hostess.

Horse races were a new trend in Paris, and both painters were greatly inspired by it. Manet caught the heat of the action in blurred vision and elongated views of racing horses. Degas explored refined colour mixes and was moved to capture tragedy on the racetrack.

Great historical events of the age included the U.S. Civil War and France's intervention into Mexico. Manet covered both in paintings of sea battles and the execution of Emperor Maximilian. Both good bourgeois painters were devastated by the Franco-Prussian War and the sémaine sanglante of the Paris Commune.

Women were an esssential subject for both. Manet was more relaxed in his visions of women, but also the more stern Degas was also able to portray interesting women from all walks of life. Degas was also capable of capturing the tragedy of sexual violence. His painting about the aftermath of a rape of an underage girl conveys a horror comparable with Dostoevsky's The Devils. Monet paid the price of his Bohemian ways: he died of syphilis.

Both Manet and Degas were called Impressionists, and both hated the title, preferring to be seen as Realists. But undeniably both created keyworks that belong to the core of Impressionism. As always, labels are for critics and historians, not interesting for artists. One of my favourite juxtapositions in the exhibition offers large size beach scenes by Manet and Degas, both with an Impressionist approach.

The magnificent exhibition is mounted downstairs at the Musée d'Orsay. I view it four times. The lighting is not always as brilliant as in the top floor where there are also several Manet and Degas masterpieces which do not belong to the double exhibition, such as "Le déjeuner sur l'herbe". For instance, "Le Tub" by Degas is not well lit. N.B. I realized later that this must be because it is a pastel, and pastels are more gently lit.

The excellent catalogue offers a lot of fascinating background information and analysis and a full catalogue of the artworks on display. It is a sign of the times that the visual quality of the reproductions is inferior.