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The Balcony
The painting depicts four figures on a balcony: the seated painter Berthe Morisot, her future husband Eugène Manet represented by the man in the center, the violinist Fanny Claus, and probably Léon Leenhoff, Manet's son, partially hidden in the background. The figures appear emotionally distant, not making eye contact with each other, which enhances the atmosphere of isolation. The dominant colors in the painting are white, green, and black, accented with blue and red.
Portrait of the Creator
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Artist
Edouard Manet
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Date of birth and death
23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883
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Natinality
French
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Style
Early modernist, Realism to Impressionism transition, loose brushwork, flatness, photographic lighting
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Significant works
The Luncheon on the Grass, Olympia, A Bar at the Folies-Bergère, The Fifer
Information about the work
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Year:
1869
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Execution technique:
oil on canvas
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Location:
Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France
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Theme:
social portrait, isolation, social life, friendship, realism
Internal Narrative and Creative Framework
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Inner Narrative
The painting shows social relationships and emotional separations between the depicted figures, symbolizing a certain internal isolation despite physical proximity. The painterly style breaks academic traditions, highlighting flat framing and contrasting colors.
The key to interpreting the work
Interpret the work as a reflection on social and emotional distances, as well as a formal experiment with color and composition in the spirit of realism with elements of impressionism.See other works by this artist
