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Lot Essay
In 1868 and 1869, Manet holidayed with his family at Boulogne-sur-Mer. There, his long-held fascination with the sea-- Manet had tried several times to join the Navy, and had travelled as a sailor to Brazil twenty years earlier-- found form in a group of seascapes and pictures of shipping and harbour life. Painted circa 1868, Marine is one of these works, and shows a lyrical scene with boats passing on an empty sea. There is a Romantic feel, a wistful air and a tranquil, contemplative ambience, and yet paradoxically the picture is also filled with a sense of spontaneity. For it was now, in the late 1860s, that Manet began to experiment with looser brushwork, in part inspired by the Impressionists. In fact, it has been suggested that it was his guest, and future sister-in-law, Berthe Morisot who encouraged him to paint with more freedom, as she herself was doing. Although Manet had long been part of the proto-Impressionist circle who met at the Café Guerbois, it was nonetheless now, with Morisot staying at Boulogne-sur-Mer, that he showed interest in these brushstrokes in his own right; yet they would mark much of his work for the rest of his career.
Marine's history also provides an insight into other friendships in Manet's life. For this picture was a gift from the artist to his friend, the composer Emmanuel Chabrier, whom he would also render in a couple of portraits as would some of his other artist friends, not least Tissot and Fantin-Latour. Chabrier was considered the equivalent of an Impressionist within the music world, and it is indicative to find that one of his early works, Impromptu of 1873, was dedicated to Mme Manet. The picture's subsequent history is itself a tribute to another friendship, as at the sale that took place after Chabrier's death, Marine was purchased by his friend and fellow composer Ernest Chausson, who was likewise well acquainted with many of the artists of the time.
Marine's history also provides an insight into other friendships in Manet's life. For this picture was a gift from the artist to his friend, the composer Emmanuel Chabrier, whom he would also render in a couple of portraits as would some of his other artist friends, not least Tissot and Fantin-Latour. Chabrier was considered the equivalent of an Impressionist within the music world, and it is indicative to find that one of his early works, Impromptu of 1873, was dedicated to Mme Manet. The picture's subsequent history is itself a tribute to another friendship, as at the sale that took place after Chabrier's death, Marine was purchased by his friend and fellow composer Ernest Chausson, who was likewise well acquainted with many of the artists of the time.