Skip to main content
Questions & Answers
Our trusted network of 1stDibs sellers answer common questions

What are the elements of Édouard Manet art?

1 Answer
What are the elements of Édouard Manet art?
Édouard Manet was famed for his textured paintings which used bold contrasting colors that focused on figures and still life elements. On 1stDibs, you can shop a collection of expertly vetted Édouard Manet pieces from some of the world’s top art dealers.
1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
Shop for Edouard Manet Art on 1stDibs
Christ as a Gardener by Edouard Manet
By Édouard Manet
Located in New Orleans, LA
Edouard Manet 1832-1883 French Christ as a Gardener Oil on canvas Beloved for his invaluable role in the development of the Impressionist movement, Edouard Manet's artworks are foundational to the canon of art history. The revolutionary artist's rare religious works, while lesser-known, are some of the most intimate paintings he ever produced, offering insight into the artist’s fascination with the idea of humanity’s beautiful and transcendent relationship with suffering. Begun in 1856, Christ as a Gardener is one of his earliest renderings of Christ and offers a view into nascent motifs that would later define Manet’s monumental legacy. In the painting, Christ’s profile is turned toward the viewer, though his face is turned to the bottom left of the frame and his downturned eyes avert the viewer's gaze. His brown robes contrast the warm light of his halo and the dramatic sky behind him. As with all of Manet’s work, this image is rich with symbolism. A partial self-portrait, as seen in the similar facial hair and iconic appearance of a paintbrush-like garden tool, the painting renders the biblical scene of Mary Magdalene mistaking the risen Christ for a gardener with personal intimacy. As the biblical tale relays, when Mary Magdalene recognizes Christ, she reaches out to him; he replies, “Touch me not.” The highly charged relationship between the Christ figure and the viewer, standing in as Mary Magdalene, is further emphasized by Christ’s hand that appears to reach out for contact. Through this extension of touch, Christ’s presence is tangible, reminiscent of Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam in the Sistine Chapel. This intimate initiation of human connection directly contrasts Christ’s biblical words, “Touch me not.” Scholars have attributed this rejection, both in gaze and through words, to Manet’s conviction that Christ, as a human, embodied a spirit of renunciation and rejection of his earthly existence. Christ’s distant expression suggests a willingness to be elsewhere — an expression that Manet will later use in his most distinguished works of art. Manet would go on to expand his view of Christ as a timeless embodiment of absolute commitment and suffering with his monumental Salon paintings...
Category

19th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

GUERRE CIVILE
By Édouard Manet
Located in Portland, ME
Edouard Manet, French, (1832-1883). GUERRE CIVILE (CIVIL WAR). Lithograph on chine colle, 1871-73. The second state of two. Printed and Published by Lermercier, Paris, 1874. 15 5/8 ...
Category

1870s Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

"Le Gamin" original etching - Boy with a Dog
By Édouard Manet
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: original etching. Catalogue reference: Guerin 27 and Harris 31. This charming etching is one of several compositions executed by Edouard Manet on the subject of a boy and his...
Category

Early 1900s Post-Impressionist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Etching

"La Convalescente" original etching
By Édouard Manet
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: original etching and aquatint. Catalogue reference: Harris 85 iii/iii. This is a fine impression from the 1884 Bazire edition, printed on laid paper. Plate size: 5 x 4 inches...
Category

1880s Post-Impressionist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Etching

Lola De Valence
By Édouard Manet
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Lola De Valence Etching, 1862 Signed in the plate lower left: “Ed Manet” Printed on chine collee paper, without watermark From the first edition, published by Cadart and Luquet, Paris, before the removal of the inscription “ Ed. Manet sculpt” From the 1863 edition, before the 1874 Portfolio, 1890 Portolio. 1894 Dumont edition and the Strolin edition of 100 in 1905 Pencil inscription with title below the plate in the lower margin Conditiono: Excellent Image size: 10 7/8 x 6 7/8 inches Plate size: 18 3/4 x 13 inches Reference: Harris-Manet 33 iii/III Guerin-Manet 23 vi/VIII The painting that this etching is inspired by is in the collection of the Musee d'Orsay, Paris. "Lola de Valence is a painting by the painter Édouard Manet in 1862 . The canvas represents a dancer dressed intraditional Spanish clothes...
Category

1860s Impressionist Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching

Le Gamin (The Kid)
By Édouard Manet
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Le Gamin (The Kid) Etching on laid paper, 1862 Signed in the plate upper left (see photo) As published in Theodore Duret, L'Histoire d'Edouard Manet et de Son Ouvre, 1902 (The first ...
Category

1860s Impressionist Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching

Shop All