What happens when a controversial painter meets his ultimate muse at a society party?
Edouard Manet was entirely captivated when he met Marguerite de Conflans at a reception hosted by his wife. He was so enchanted by her elegance that he painted her five distinct times, making this intimate oval portrait one of his most deeply personal works.
Notice the softly blurred mirror reflection in the background? Manet borrowed this clever compositional trick from Ingres to show us multiple angles of Marguerite simultaneously. But she offered him more than just a beautiful subject. Her family's connections actually gave Manet rare private access to study Francisco Goya's paintings, an ex...