The Balcony Édouard Manet (1832-1883)

Description of the painting "Balcony" by Edouard Manet

The artist who inspired Manet to create his widely acclaimed painting was Berthe Morisot. They met in 1868 and already in the fall Berthe begins posing for the artist’s image. The society well received the finished painting and in the spring of 1869, it is for sale in one of the local salons. For a long time the painting belonged to a French painter, and after his death it became the property of the state. Today, the canvas is in the Musée d’Orsay. The painting depicts the action taking place on one of the balconies. It itself is in green tones and is enclosed by a dense lattice. There are two women seated among the people on the balcony. The woman on the right is the violinist Fanny Klaus, standing near the door and looking at the viewer.

The left woman is the artist Berta Morisot, she is sitting on a small pouffe and looks out over the balcony railing, with a small white and brown dog at her feet. Both women are depicted in snow-white outfits that contrast markedly with the rest of the setting. Behind them is a man standing, this is Antoine Guillemée, a famous artist. Behind his silhouette in the dense darkness of the room, one can barely see the artist’s stepson, Leon Leenhoff. The inspiration for this painting was one of the creations of Manet’s favorite creator, Francisco Goya, Mahy on the balcony. It is with it that the plot and composition of the image are associated. Before creating his famous painting, Manet managed to create a separate portrait of the violinist Mademoiselle Claus on the same green balcony as part of his training. In the painting, she is depicted sitting on the same stool as Berthe.