The Balcony
by Édouard Manet, 1869
Artwork Details
Details
- Year
- 1869
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Size
- 170 cm × 124.5 cm
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Édouard Manet painted The Balcony between 1868 and 1869, inspired by Goya's Majas on the Balcony. Four figures occupy a green-shuttered balcony, though their psychological disconnection makes the scene feel strange. Nobody looks at anyone else. The seated woman in white is Berthe Morisot, making her first appearance in Manet's work.
Morisot would become one of the founding Impressionists and eventually marry Manet's brother Eugène. In 1874, painter Jean Baptiste Antoine Guillemet stands at center. Violinist Fanny Claus appears at right. A fourth figure, possibly Manet's son Léon, lurks in the shadowed interior.
The painting measures 170 by 125 centimeters and hangs at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. It was exhibited at the 1869 Salon, kept by Manet until his death, then purchased by painter Gustave Caillebotte. Caillebotte's bequest brought it to national collections in 1894.
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About The Balcony
It's at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. Édouard Manet painted it in 1868-69. It was shown at the 1869 Salon, where it received mixed reviews.
The seated woman is painter Berthe Morisot, who would become a leading Impressionist. Behind her stand violinist Fanny Claus and painter Antoine Guillemet. A shadowy fourth figure (possibly Manet's son Léon) lurks in the dark interior. Morisot's intense, mysterious expression has fascinated viewers for over 150 years.
Manet drew on Goya's Majas on a Balcony (c. 1810), translating the Spanish scene into a contemporary Parisian setting. The green shutters and iron railing are distinctly French. Manet often referenced old masters while making radically modern paintings.
It measures 170 cm × 124.5 cm (66.9 × 49 inches). The stark contrast between the green balcony railing, white dresses, and dark interior is deliberately jarring. Manet avoided smooth tonal transitions, flattening the image in a way that puzzled academic critics.
Morisot became one of the core Impressionist painters and exhibited in nearly all their group shows. She later married Manet's brother Eugène. Her relationship with Manet (artistic, possibly romantic) is one of art history's most discussed connections.
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