Madame Manet at Bellevue

Edouard Manet

Oil on canvas

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Painted during a summer retreat at Bellevue as Manet battled declining health, this tender portrait captures his wife Suzanne in profile, her face shaded beneath a wide straw hat trimmed in black. Loose, vigorous brushstrokes of olive, gold, and cream dissolve the lush garden backdrop into a shimmering curtain of greenery, while Manet's quick, confident strokes on her coat and hat reveal his mastery of capturing light and atmosphere with economy. The intimacy of the subject paired with the painterly freedom of execution reflects Manet's late style, loosening toward Impressionism under the influence of his younger colleagues. A quietly radiant work, it brings warmth and the dappled light of a summer afternoon into any room.