Books
The History of Blackness Is Entwined With Blue
Manet’s portrait of Jeanne Duval reveals how racism trains us to see colors in particular and sometimes contradictory ways.
Edouard Manet
Art
The Dance Between Manet and Degas
What’s fascinating about Manet/Degas at The Met is the degree to which the work of each artist seemed to possess whatever the other lacked.
News
That Time Manet Dueled One of His Critics
A witness statement by novelist Émile Zola relates the sword fight between the painter and critic Edmond Duranty after he penned a lukewarm review of Manet’s work.
News
Manet’s Controversial Nude Is Coming to New York
“Olympia” (1863) will be shown in the US for the first time as part of a Met exhibition focused on the joint careers of Édouard Manet and Edgar Degas.
Art
Ai Weiwei Recreates Monet’s "Water Lilies" Using 650,000 LEGOS
It’s the artist’s largest LEGO artwork to date.
Satire
Petition to Change Manet’s Name; “Too Similar to Monet”
A poll showed that 83% of Musée d’Orsay visitors think the two French artists are the same person.
News
The Most Valuable Stolen Artworks Across Time
On the anniversary of the Gardner Museum heist, learn more about the 10 most expensive missing artworks.
Books
Broaching the Subject of Beauty
A look at three paintings from the cusp of the 20th century that make a powerful argument for beauty.
In Brief
Musée d’Orsay Puts Focus on Overlooked and Anonymous Black Models in French Masterpieces
Black models: from Géricault to Matisse temporarily retitles works featuring historically anonymous Black models to honor their sitters.
Books
How Painting Survives in the Digital Era
In her new book, The Love of Painting: Genealogy of a Success Medium, critic Isabelle Graw ruminates on how painting remains omnipresent within the contemporary capitalist system and digital economy.
Art
Deconstructing Race in Western Painting
The most interesting part of this excellent exhibition is its presentation of black modernists, for here we enter relatively unfamiliar territory.
Art
The Women Who Modeled for Édouard Manet, from Artists to Lovers
An introduction to six of the women who modeled for the masterpieces that earned Manet his canonical reputation.