Picture this: Eduard Manet

Eduard Manet (1832-1883) has been called ”the first modern painter”, but according to himself he was only trying to be truly original and not copy anyone else. Despite working roughly at the same time as the romantic painters, like Gustav Courbet, he had much more in common with later artists, like Monet and Renoir. His vision was narrative rather than interpretive, and his work was often seen as to cold by the critics of his time.

The Execution of The Emperor Maximilian (1867) is a perfect example of Manet’s style. It’s obviously a comment on Goya’s famous The Third of May 1808. The big difference between Goya and Manet is that the later doesn’t show any apparent sympathies for either side of the conflict depicted. Manet produces a distant view – almost photographic – where Goya made a passionate political statement.

Picture this is a standing feature in the weekly journal Flamman.