A Little Knownm Essay
A Little Knownm Essay
A Little Knownm Essay
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
College Art Association is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Art
Bulletin.
http://www.jstor.org
Io i. Bibliotheque Nationale, Cabinet des Estampes, Registre panded and published in the Revue du XIXe sidcle on Janu-
des cartes de travail, December, I845-May, I859, and May, ary i, 1867 (ibid., pp. 88-1o4). However, in 1879, Zola
I859-April, 1868; the two volumes are numbered consecu- wrote a piece for a Russian periodical which was reprinted
tively. Hereafter cited as Cartes de travail. in Paris, accusing the Impressionists, and Manet in particular,
Io2. Bracquemond: Cartes de travail, No. 15765 address, of a lack of finish and hasty productions (ibid., pp. 217-221;
I6 rue de Monsieur. Degas: ibid., No. 1895; address not given 5 also, Ima N. Ebin, "Manet and Zola," Gazette des Beaux-
this information was recorded by Lemoisne, op.cit., I, p. 227 Arts, ser. 6, No. 27, June, 1945, p. 370).
n. 13. Fantin-Latour: Cartes de travail, No. 1501; address, x 2. This article is reprinted in full in Stephane Mallarme,
rue du Dragon. Manet: ibid., No. 2361; address, 52 rue de Oeuvres complhtes, Paris, Bibliotheque de la Pleiade, 1945,
la Victoire. Renoir: ibid., No. 3608; address, 23 rue d'Argen- pp. 695-700, and in large part in English translation in Hamil-
teuil. ton, op.cit., pp. 182-183.
103. Daubigny: ibid., No. 2050; address, 13 Quai d'Anjou. 3. Art Monthly Review, I, No. 9, pp. 17-121. To my
Dor6: ibid., Nos. 1535 and 2650; addresses, 8 rue Neuve St. knowledge, this article has never been reprinted. It is referred
Paul au Marais, and 75 rue St. Dominique St. Germain, re- to in the Pl6iade edition of Mallarme's work cited above in
spectively. Fromentin: ibid., No. 3300; address, 22 rue de note 2, pp. 1616-1617, but is not reproduced.
Boursault. Guys: ibid., No. 20o97; address, 26 rue d'Aumale. 4. Two of the four works submitted by Manet to the Salon
Rodin: ibid., No. 2117; address, 12 rue des Foss6s St. Jacques. of I874 were rejected: the Swallows and the Ball at the
Tissot: ibid., No. 2266; address, 60 rue St. Louis. Opera. The two works which were accepted, The Railroad and
I04. Burty: ibid., No. I967; no address. Champfleury: the watercolor of Punchinello, are basically more "conserva-
ibid., Nos. 1598 and 3035; address, 3 rue d'Arcole. Goncourt: tive" works in that the central images are clearly distinguish-
ibid., No. 2464; address, 43 rue St. Georges. able and placed in a prominent position in the foreground
of the painting (see Hamilton, op.cit., pp. 175-176).
i. In 1866, Zola wrote a famous article praising Manet's 5. The works rejected by the Jury in 1876 were Le linge
current work (see George Heard Hamilton, Manet and His and The Artist.
Critics, New Haven, 1954, pp. 84-87). This article was ex-
IitIfI Miff"I1(113IJ
-Akr
"
( lot
ok (x
Ii. Michaeli, Perseus Room, Castel Sant'Angelo, Rome 12. Michaeli, Adoration of the Shepherds. Parma,
4t.1 7
sipr7
Awe' "Ptr
A? 11
;iaIF
tzpm-
*~ a- c~lsT dlib~~h -~- - ~-~~?
~ FUAM~w
4
J
because his preoccupation with eccentric images has "As no artisthas on his palettea transparentand neutral
been replacedby a more healthy concern with contem- color answering to open air, the desired effect can only
porary social normality. In works such as Le linge, one be obtainedby lightnessor heavinessof touch, or by the
of the paintings rejected by the Salon Jury in 1876, regulationof tone. Now Manet and his school use simple
Mallarm6 feels, Manet's aim at last has been fully color, fresh, or lightly laid on, and their results appear
realized. Mallarm6 defines this aim as "not to make a to have been attained at the first stroke, that the ever-
momentary escapade or sensation [which he obviously present light blendswith and vivifiesall things. As to the
feels the earlier paintings such as Olympia did], details of the picture, nothing should be absolutelyfixed
but by steadily endeavoring to impress upon his work in order that we may feel that the bright gleam which
a naturaland general law, to seek out a type rather than lights the picture, or the diaphanousshadow which veils
a personality,and to flood it with light and air.""' it, are only seen in passing, and just when the spectator
Here we arrive at the heart of Mallarme's argument, beholds the representedsubject, which being composed
the elucidationof the underlying theme of Manet's ma- of a harmony of reflected and ever-changing lights,
ture art, and that of the younger painters,the concern cannot be supposedalways to look the same, but palpi-
with open air. Just as Baudelaire emphasized, in "Le tates with movement, light, and life.""2
peintre de la vie moderne," that picturesque beauties
were discoverable in modern dress,"8 so Mallarm6 At this point, Mallarm6 asks the question, "But will
stresses that contemporaryfigures painted out-of-doors not this atmosphere-which an artifice of the painter
can reveal artistictruth in a way that is peculiarlymean- extends over the whole of the object painted-vanish,
when the completely finished work is as a repainted
ingful for the modern era. He describesManet's paint-
ing Le linge as an illustrationof what he means in the picture?"23 No, he says, for "from the first concep-
tion of the work, the space intended to contain the
following terms: "Everywhere the luminous and trans-
parentatmospherestruggleswith the figures, the dresses, atmosphere has been indicated, so that when this is
and the foliage, and seems to take to itself some of their filled by the represented air, it is as unchangeable as
substanceand solidity; whilst their contours, consumed the other parts of the picture."2' This does not mean,
for Mallarm6, that the modern artist falls back upon
by the hidden sun and wasted by space, tremble, melt,
and evaporate into the surrounding atmosphere,which traditionalconventions of compositionto maintain pic-
torial integrity, for "as a rule the grouping of modern
plunders reality from the figures, yet seems to do so in
order to preserve their truthful aspect."19 persons does not suggest it," but that the artist has dis-
At this and other points in his essay, Mallarm6 im- covered a new "manner of cutting down pictures,"so
that the frame has "all the charm of a merely fanciful
plies that the concern on the part of modern painters
with outdoor light representsa democraticvision never boundary,such as that which is embracedat one glance
before explored in the visual arts, and that this demo- of a scene framed in by the hands. . . ." The frame
cratic vision is the equivalent of the movement toward serves the purpose of indicating that "this is the pic-
ture and the function of the frame is to isolate it ...,125
political democracy in France "that will honor the
whole close of the nineteenth century."20 The experi- but it has no directive effect on the dispositionof the
ence of rendering objects as they appear in outdoor objects within its boundaries.Rather, the construction
of the solids and their dispositionare determined by the
light forces the truthful artist to dispense with the
traditionalarrangement of forms in an hierarchicalor- artist's observationof the complex interaction between
those solids and the surroundingair.
der, while the paintings which result induce the specta-
tor to pay attention to the insubstantialas well as to the Mallarm6 closes his essay with a simulated mani-
substantialelements in nature. This assertionof a wider festo of the new movement in art, including among
its adherents not only Manet, but also Monet, Berthe
scope in visual experience than had hitherto been pre-
sented is, for Mallarm6, the aim of the modern artist Morisot, Renoir, Whistler, and Degas, all of whom
in its greatest fulfillment. The modern artist has taken he feels are linked by a common concern with the open
air. In the wording of this passage, Mallarm6 seems to
upon himself the mission of opening the eyes of the
public to a "just and pure" visual experience not found betray a closer personalattachment to the ideals of the
new art than he does anywhere else in the article. The
previously in the history of art.21
Mallarm6 recognizes that the means by which Manet passageis worth quoting in full, for it serves admirably
achieves the effects of open air depend upon artifices, to summarize the major points which Mallarm6 has
or acquired devices. He continues his discussionwith a made throughout the article:
detailed analysis of these devices: "That which I preserve through the power of Im-
17. Mallarmb, "The Impressionists and Edouard Manet," cravats and our patent-leather boots.").
p. 119. 19. Mallarmb, "The Impressionists and Edouard Manet,"
18. The idea is first expressed by Baudelaire in his review p. 119.
of the Salon of 1845 (see The Mirror of Art, Critical Studies zo. Loc.cit.
by Baudelaire, Jonathan Mayne, ed., Doubleday Anchor 21. Loc.cit.
Books, p. 37: "The painter, the true painter for whom we 22. Mallarme, "The Impressionists and Edouard
Manet,"
are looking, will be he who can snatch its epic quality from p. 119.
the life of today and can make us see and understand, with 23. Loc.cit. 24. Ibid., p. 120.
brush or with pencil, how great and poetic we are in our 25. Loc.cit.
pressionismis not the material portion which already is its interpretationof Manet's aims, and this is the as-
exists, superior to any mere representationof it, but pect of Manet's art which is most difficult to describe
the delight of having recreated nature touch by touch. with accuracy. Manet himself never wrote anything
I leave the massiveand tangible solidity to its fitter ex- about his views on art. All that we know is deduced
ponent, sculpture. I content myself with reflecting on from the reportsof others and from the paintingsthem-
the clear and durable mirror of painting, that which selves. However, as we noted above, Mallarme's de-
perpetually lives yet dies every moment, which only scription of Manet's aesthetic is not at variance with
exists by the will of Idea, yet constitutesin my domain that given by other witnessesof the period.Where Mal-
the only authentic and certain merit of nature-the larm6's analysisdiffers from that of his contemporaries
Aspect. It is through her that when rudely thrown at is in the precision of its terminology, for, unlike other
the close of an epoch of dreams in front of reality, I writers, he discussesManet's works in terms which are
have taken from it only that which properlybelongs to applicabledirectly to painting, not in terms transferred
my art, an original and exact perception which dis- from the realm of literature. At the same time, the
tinguishes for itself the things it perceives with the clarity and precisionof his language suggest that he un-
steadfast gaze of a vision restored to its simplest per- derstood not only the implicationsof the visual effects
fection."2' of Manet's paintings, but also their aesthetic premises.
Such understanding would seem possible for a poet, a
One could conclude here quite simply with the ob-
servation that Mallarme's second article on Manet is practitionerin another medium, only if he could iden-
an important document, unjustly neglected, for an un- tify the painter's aims with his own.
From what is known of Mallarm6's theory of po-
derstandingof the complex nature of the artist'smature etry at this point in his career, we may suggest with
work and its reputation.But the keen insight exhibited
much justification that he could have carried on an
by Mallarm6 in his essay raises several questionswhich amicable discussionabout aestheticswith Manet. Mal-
cannot easily be ignored. It is not possiblehere to give larm6 felt that the aim of poetry was "peindre non la
answers to all such questions,but a few points may be
chose, mais l'effet qu'elle produit."31The object was
tentatively presented. importantonly in terms of an experience of it. At the
A question which may occur first to the reader is: same time, Mallarm6 believed fully in the necessity for
how reliableare Mallarme's account and interpretation
of Manet's method and aims? There is no doubt that rigorous discipline of his medium. But this discipline
was to be so thoroughly enmeshed in the fabric of the
Mallarm6 was well acquainted with Manet and his work that the reader would be unaware of the mechan-
work by 1876.27 The men had collaborated on two ics by which the poem was created. In other words, the
projects by this time. The first was an edition of Mal- successful poem should impart both a sense of com-
larme's translation of "The Raven" by Edgar Allan pleteness and a mood of spontaneity.32As we have
Poe with six illustrationsby Manet.28 The other was
an edition of Mallarm6's poem, "L'apres-midi d'un seen, these are precisely the qualities which Mallarm6
understoodand admiredin Manet's mature paintings--
faune," also accompaniedby Manet's illustrations.29In sureness and spontaneity, combined to produce an ex-
addition, the two were contemplating other collabora-
tive projects.30 These encounters certainly provided perience of "the effect produced" by the interaction
Mallarm6 with ample opportunityto become informed between solids and space, or what Mallarm6 calls the
about Manet's aims and working habits. Also, as we Aspect. It seems plausibleto conclude, then, that the
have seen, Mallarme's account of Manet's methods in similarity between Mallarme's personal poetic theory
no way contradictsother contemporaryreports.There- and Manet's art helped to make the poet exceptionally
fore, as far as the descriptionof Manet's technique is sensitiveto the painter'saims and able to interpretthem
concerned, Mallarme's article would seem to contain with justice.
authentic statements. Finally, it is possiblethat Mallarme's sympatheticun-
The really problematicfeature of Mallarme's piece derstandingof Manet's mature painting may have had
26. Mallarm6, "The Impressionists and Edouard Manet," cit6 en la mer." (see ibid., No. 85). Although this particular
p. I21. project was never carried out, Mallarme did publish an edi-
27. Henri Mondor (Vie de Paris, 1941, I, p. tion of additional translations of Poe's poems in 1877 (see
Mallarmr, Mondor, Vie de MallarmM, I, p. 392). The idea of collaborat-
344 n. 2) feels that the two must have met in 1873-
28. The edition of 240 numbered copies was published by ing on another project occurs in the correspondence between
Richard Lesclide in Paris in 1875 (see M. Guerin, L'oeuvre the two men quite often until Manet's death (see ibid., I,
gravi de Manet, Paris, 1944, No. 85). p. 389, a letter by Manet to Mallarme dated September, 1876;
29. The first editikn, published by Derenne in Paris in 1876, p. 418, two letters by Manet written during the summer of
consisted of 195 examples numbered and signed by the au- 1881). Finally, it is worth mentioning that Mallarme dedi-
thor and by Manet, who contributed four small wood-en- cated his 1888 edition of translations of Poe's poems to Manet:
gravings to the publication. A second edition appeared after "A la memoire d'Edouard Manet, ces feuillets, que nous
Manet's death, with the wood-engravings reproduced photo- limes ensembles." (Ibid., p. 543.)
graphically (see ibid., No. 93). 31. These words are contained in an important letter, writ-
30. At the time of the publication of "Le corbeau," some ten by Mallarm6 from London to his editor, Henri Cazalis,
of the posters announcing its appearance were issued with a in Paris, dated October, 1864 (ibid., p.
x45).
mention of another collaboration by the two men, an illus- 32. See the discussion of Mallarm6's method in E. Noulet,
trated edition of Mallarme's translation of Poe's poem, "La L'oeuvre poitique de Mallarmi, Paris, 1940, p. 171.
33. Of the total of 76 prints which Manet executed from Rice in Baltimore written in connection with a memorial
186o through 1873, only 22 were actually issued in print volume of the works of Poe which was being prepared in
editions with his authorizationduring his life-time. Of these America, Mallarm6 says: "Mon ami Manet et mon collabora-
22 prints, 19 were executedin the etching medium. teur Manet, qui, avec son crayon mieux que par une phrase
34. Both the compositionand graphic treatmentof Le fleur ou deux, souhaite de r6pondre a votre bienveillante invita-
exotique are reminiscentof plate No. 15, "Bellos consejos,"of tion, me demande quel dessin il peut faire pour l'ornementa-
the Caprichosseriesby Goya. There are many such derivations tion; bois ou cuivre, il enverrait ce qu'on lui designera, soit
in Manet's etchings of the sixties. Inspired by the Caprichos gravure, soit eau-forte (ce dernier proc6d6 6tant, entre nous,
also, are the two versions of 4u Prado (Gu6rin, L'oeuere l'un de ceux ofi il excelle) .. ." (Noulet, L'oeuvre poktique de
grave de Manet, Nos. 45 and 46), which resembleclosely plate Mallarm), p. 248). A more specific idea of Mallarme's taste
27 of Goya's work, "Quien mas rendido." Manet also was in graphic work can be gleaned from an examination of a pas-
inspired by the Spanish master's Tauromachiaseries, notably sage written to Cazalis in 1868, describing the kind of etching
in his painting and etching of Mile. V en costume d'espada which he feels might accompany his contribution to Burty's
(ibid., No. 32), in which the backgroundimages are copied Sonnets et eaux-fortes: "Par exemple, une fenetre nocturne
almost intact from those in plates 3 and 5 of Goya's series. ouverte, les deux volets attach6s, une chambre avec personne de-
In addition,Manet musthave been familiar with Goya'setched dans, malgr6 Pair stable que presentent les volets attaches, et
copies of paintings by Velizquez (Goya's etching after Los dans une nuit faite d'absence et d'interrogation, sans meubles,
borrachosappearsin the upperright cornerof Manet'sportrait sinon l'6bauche plausible de vaines consoles, un cadre, belli-
of Zola), for both Manet's etching after the so-called Veliz- queux et agonisant, de miroir appendu au fond, avec sa re-
quez portrait of Philip IV in the Louvre (ibid., No. 7) and flexion stellaire et incompr6hensible, de la grande Ourse, qui
the etched version of Les petits cavaliers (ibid., No. 8) are relie au ciel ce logis abandonn6 du monde." (Ibid., pp. 267-
similar to Goya's prints. (For comparable works by Goya, 268.) These passages certainly lead one to realize that Mal-
see E. Lafuente Ferrari, Goya, His CompleteEtchings, 4qua- larm6's taste was quite different from Manet's as far as pic-
tints, and Lithographs, New York, 1962, p. 251, the copy torial treatment is concerned.
of Velizquez' portrait of the Infante d. Fernando,and p. 243, 37. Typical of Manet's late graphic style is the etching
the copy of Los borrachos.) Theodore Duret, in Histoire entitled Le printemps (Guerin, L'oeuere grave de Manet, No.
d'EdouardManet et de son oeuvre, Paris, 1926, p. 163, states 66), which repeats a motif from one of his oils exhibited in
that Manet delighted in making deliberate referencesto the the Salon of 1882. The etching depicts a young woman seen
works of past mastersin his own works. in profile against a flowery background. The face and the
35. The techniqueis called "autographe"by French writ- ribbon under the chin are the only shapes which are fully
ers. The artist drew with a brush and special ink upon a pre- outlined. In the other portions of the print, particularly in the
pared paper, which was then placed face down on the stone. dress and in the background, there are only sketchy lines to
The paper was disintegratedby water, leaving the drawing indicate objects. The emphasis is upon the activity of the sur-
adhering to the stone. The advantageof this processwas that face rather than upon the pattern of juxtaposed areas. Hence,
the artist could draw boldly and freely and that the drawing the etching suggests transience and air rather than stable form,
would appear in print facing in the same direction as that and is similar to the effect seen in the illustrations for "The
in which it was executed. Raven" rather than to that seen in an earlier etching such
36. Mallarmb's personal taste in graphics seems to have as Le fleur exotique.
been rather conservative.In 1876, in a letter to a Miss Sara