Still lifes by French Impressionist painter Edouard Manet are being shown in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris until January 7th 2001. Manet painted still lifes throughout his career but often limited himself to representing one vegetable or fruit. One can remember his single asparagus, which he painted for a buyer who had asked him to represent a bundle. The price he had paid for that work exceeded what the painter expected and Manet decided to paint that asparagus mentioning that it had been missing from that bundle.
Manet's touch was much free though he was considered as the heir of Dutch and Flemish masters of the 17th century. Critics felt he was much talented to paint still lifes but not worthy of producing scenes, which had been refused in many Salons during the 1860s. Most of the figures he painted during this period were accompanied by still lifes, notably the “Déjeuner sur l'herbe” or the portraits of Zola, Théodore Duret and Alexandre Astruc.
Manet certainly did not consider still life painting as a minor genre and was probably impressed by Chardin to whom he paid homage in his paintings titled “The Hare” of 1866 and “ The Brioche” of 1870. All the more his still lifes of flowers were quite remarkable.
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