A Painting in a Painting?

Claude Monet on His Studio Boat
Édouard Manet 1874
​Alte Pinakothek Munich (1)

When I was in Munich in April I visited the Old Pinakothek, a museum of extraordinary content. I saw this masterpiece.

A painting by Édouard Manet, called Claude Monet on His Studio Boat, dated from 1874.

Maybe you are already familiar with it. It is not an unknown one, but, and I think this is particularly because Édouard's more 'infamous' pieces were on everyone's lips at the time, it is one not often talked about.

It is a painting about friendship. Manet, oftentines a quite challenging character, painted here a very lovely and peaceful scene with Claude Monet and, I suppose, his wife Camille in it.

I love the composition, how the boat is so close to the viewer and all in the focus. We can imagine we are in our own boat before them, maybe acquainted with them, watching him paint and take part in their chatting. Or, did Monet perhaps not chat at all when he concentrated on painting? Then we would just watch and listen to the soft ripples of the water, the creaking of the boat, the light breeze, and the meditational gentle sound Monet's brush creates when he touches his canvas with it.

I do like the colours, such bold manners with the paint. The water is just beautifully painted with its reflective surface and the light refracting, depending on the angles. Most noticeable and very pleasing, Manet paid an equal amount of attention to the landscape and also to the scene in the boat in the centre of the painting. It must be early summer, nature is in full swing, the grass and the trees are painted in saturated green. We see a warmer day, Monet is dressed in bright clothes and sporting a hat that protects him from the sun. He sits under a sun canopy in the front of the boat, his position gives him the possibility to capture the changing details of water, weather, and light. Perfect conditions for plein air painting.

His wife is with him, and this is remarkable too. She's sitting in a kind of sheltered cabin but is engaged with Claude and also with the viewer. Why is she with him? Their son, Jean, was a small boy when this was painted, so he must either be with them or staying with some relatives or friends. This scene, albeit depicting a very tranquil and intimate moment, is perhaps not such a happy day as we think. Monet had huge financial problems. The family moved houses quite frequently to keep the expenses on the lowest level they possibly could. Records say the couple moved into inns sometimes but were thrown out because they couldn't pay for the room. It could well be that Claude and Camille are without a real home at the time this was made, and I'm pretty sure it is like this. I believe so because, for me, it is a painting full of care for a friend. Care expressed by Manet towards Monet.

Both artists shared the same passion, the same obsession for their field of work. There are impressionistic tendencies in Manet's piece to some extent but, unlike Monet, he cannot be associated with the art movement. Although Manet was very close to the Impressionists, he consequently followed his own personal style and goals in life. He was relatively wealthy and even hosted weekly meetings of the Impressionists in his house in Paris. However, this was mainly to exchange artistic and political views. In contrast to Édouard Manet, Claude Monet had, in terms of the financial aspects, a much harder life with hardly enough money or nothing to eat. Yet, his paintings are beautifully creative and inventive, throughout uplifting and positive. This says a lot about Monet's personality, and I think Manet was in awe of him. Not only because of his style and techniques, also because of his strength and ability to set aside all worries when working. This is what the scene in painting tells us too. The piece appears very direct, very straightforward as though Manet watched them, became intrigued, made a quick sketch, and banned his figures and forms onto the canvas in lively, broad, and unblended brushstrokes. What we see here, in techniques and colours and feeling, is openly shown admiration and honouring a man who was a colleague and at the same time much beloved friend. The relationship both men formed clearly presents itself on the canvas.

There's another intriguing thing to see in the painting. Did you notice the painting Monet is working on? It is most interesting. Knowing Édouard Manet a bit from a lot of reading about the artists of that period, I'm not an expert though, I was sure I might be able to trace what is in progress on his easel. Funny enough, I did not start with searching and comparing Monet's works to the one whose beginnings we can see on his board. I started with Edouard Manet's works. My approach to this was that I perceived him as an artistic genius but also with very high self-esteem, at times controlling and manipulative too. He's known for remarks, serious or not may be anyone's guess, that his fellow artists were envious of his outstanding talent in painting. So, it would not have surprised me at all if Manet, as a piece of great mockery perhaps, had placed one of his own works on Monet's canvas on the boat. A piece perhaps only recognisable by close friends and members of his personal circle of colleagues? Please hava a closer look.

(2)

​Alas, Manet did not! I could not find a work as such. My next thing to do was looking at Claude Monet's artwork. Can it be this one? ​

 Impression, Sunrise (3)
Claude Monet 1872

​What do you think?

******

References:
(1) Claude Monet on His Studio Boat, 1874, Alte Pinakothek Munich
Photo was taken by me
​(2) A detail, Alte Pinakothek Munich
Photo was taken by me
​(3) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impression,_Sunrise