Manet and the Ragpicker

As I am driving to the lot of the Norton Simon Museum, my eyes begin to wonder and are interrupted by the sight of bronze sculptures that are positioned outside of the museum. By seeing these sculptures my attention became more devoted in exploring the museum.  At first I was deciding on what side of the museum to view, because it was separated from past to present.  Making my decision I began to look at renaissance art. There were many religious works such as Madonna and Enthroned with child and secular works which include various portraits. Many works seemed interesting, but seemed to lack what I was looking for. So I continued to look for more art works. I came across European art in the 19^th century with Vincent Van Gogh as my first choice.  Van Gogh’s portrait of his mother seemed to be a good decision for me at first, but it was too easy, because I already had knowledge of him and his work. As amazing as the art works were they seemed redundant until I came across a piece that was simple but lured me in wanting to know more about it. Once I came up close to it I knew I had made my decision.   I was now viewing impressionist art and saw Edouard Manet’s “The Ragpicker”. The name says it all which depicts a man of lower class with a rag hanging over his shoulder using his staff for support.  I immediately connected with this piece because it showed what society rejects.

Edouard Manet, “has been seen as the first modernist and/or the last, ‘old master,’ and has been considered in many respects the founder of impressionism.” (International Dictionary of Art and Artist). Impressionism focuses on the use of primary colors that are not blended together with the usage of small strokes to simulate actual reflected light. An example of Manet’s use of impressionism is The Railroad (1873) and Les Canotiers (1874).  

“In both of these paintings the woman looks away from her companion and gazes out of the painting and at the viewer.” In other terms the art work makes the viewer think critically about the subject. He has been seen as the first modernist artist because his subjects were depicted from modern life, as oppose to other artist of his time that used classical history and mythology as a source of their subjects. Manet’s paintings appeared more abstract and sketch like in comparison to his contemporaries. This led into the direction for other artist to apply or follow modernism and abstractions. (Encyclopedia of Age of Industry and Empire). 

Looking deeper at Edouard Manet, a lot of his work shared a resemblance involving subjects that were of low class. Manet was born January 23, 1832 in Paris, France. Son to Auguste and Eugenie-Desiree Manet, he was brought up in an aristocratic environment or Gens de Robe, as it would have been said in that period of time. For Manet, art was not his first choice of interest. He enrolled for a naval career, but did not succeed with the requirements due to the failure of his entrance exam. Henceforth he embarked on a naval retreat to South America as a requirement for the naval service. Once he returned he became devoted in studying painting. As The Encyclopedia of the Age of Industry and Empire states, “he enrolled in the studio of Thomas Couture in Paris where he remained for 6 years. Due to his social class Manet could have been able to enroll to Ecole des Beaux-Arts, which was the official art school, but he chose to study under Thomas Couture.

Many of Manet’s works and pieces gave his audiences a schocking reaction.  Keeping in mind that Manet is of higher status, his works would have reasonably have pertain to subjects that inquire a trait involving upper level societal class.  Instead his early work often involved members of urban and lower class cultures such as gypsies, street performers, prostitutes, etc. Why would he acquire subjects of that class? His early works would incorporate with poems written by Charles Baudelaire that also had to do with lower class members. During one of his trips to Spain Manet became inspired by the work of Diego Velasquez and began to work as we now know as the Ragpicker. 

In this piece the subject is standing with the support of his staff and without any background images giving the viewer attention directly at the ragpicker. Manet said, “That Velasquez backgrounds would make up of air which surrounds the subject.” In the background of the Ragpicker,Manet has given the illusion of the floor and wall fade into one another, giving it a two dimensional space, but nevertheless his subject stays firmly positioned to the ground. (Norton Simon Foundation).

In his time rag pickers were peasants who collected rags and pieces of cloths to sell to paper manufactures and that is how they made their living. This a complete turning point, because works such as this one incorporates rebellion from conservative expectations of society. These rag pickers made their living in their own expense, but the subject matter was controversial in the eyes of Manet’s audience.

Applying my views in his work, I realized that a lot of Manet’s work shows the viewer that art can be found in various settings of the world. His subjects contain a certain trait that distinguishes them from the rest in comparison to the rag picker, the Fifer is another example of how Manet delivers his subjects straight forward for the viewer to identify, making them simple manner.  

This caught my attention, because it displays irony among other acclaimed work that subjects were the norm of their period. It represents a form of rebellion that breaks away from traditional subjects. Change has always been my interest, and what Manet did was incorporate social change through his work. I feel that this gives members of lower classes a chance to be at the spotlight, because their reality is a form of art that was crucial for Manet Velasquez and Baudelaire. However, without these peasants their works could have not existed.  This represents a form of balance between classes. One cannot exist without the other. The upper class members receive praise while their counterparts receive rejection. The balance comes when recognition is attributed to the lower class members by displaying accreditation to their part in society.