Édouard Manet - Madame Auguste Manet, about 1866

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This vertical, oil on canvas painting depicts a light-skinned older woman sitting on a chair. The background is dark shades of gray. The dark veil over her brown hair is loose behind her, and falls to her chest. Her hair is parted in the center and has large waves that fall to her ears. Her eyes are light blue, and looking at us. Her faint gray eyebrows are slightly raised. The woman’s skin is pale, but has a light pink blush on her cheeks. Her high cheekbones are noticeable with the contour on her cheek. She looks stern with her thin, pink lips. We can see a single gold earring hanging from her left ear that seems to sparkle. Her long, dark greenish-black dress is tight around the chest and waist but hangs freely below her hips. It has different shades of green making the fabric look like velvet. Her hands rest on her lap, holding a gold pen. On her left hand she has a gold band on her ring finger. On her right hand she has another gold ring on her ring finger and a thick gold bracelet on her wrist. The frame of the chair is dark brown, but the chair back is upholstered with pink fabric. On the bottom left corner, above her dress, “Manet” is painted in black. The portrait rests in an ornately carved, gilded wooden frame filled with vines and flowers.

Édouard Manet (Paris, 1832 - 1883, Paris)

Madame Auguste Manet, about 1866

Oil on canvas, 98 x 80 cm (38 9/16 x 31 1/2 in.)

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Commentary

This portrait of the artist’s mother, Eugénie-Désirée Fournier Manet (1811-1885), shows her in the widow’s black mourning dress she donned after her husband’s death. The brushwork throughout the painting is beautifully bold, displaying confidence and dynamism that speaks to quick work that was not always typical of Manet. 

Archival evidence suggests the artist started this painting in the years following his extended 1863 wedding trip to the Netherlands. The pose and depiction of a powerful older woman in black recall Dutch portraiture. 

Gardner was long interested in acquiring a portrait by Manet, and through her advisor Bernard Berenson purchased this work in 1910. Berenson called it "a colossal thing" and suggested Gardner hang it alongside her portraits by Pollaiuolo and Degas, to create a "trinity of great paintings that are tremendous character studies as well."