I know of no painting fresher, more dynamic, more modern in the
Baudelairian sense of the word than this one, with its frenzied
rhythm. Technically speaking, it shows Manet at the height of his
virtuosity. I think that if I had to choose among all his works
the one which gives the best idea of his talent, flawless and
uninhibited, without dull passages, without the slightest
weakening of interest, I would choose this one, to which my eyes
constantly returned at the Manet exhibition at the Orangerie in
the Tuileries in 1932.
With astonishing freedom, unsurpassed depth of feeling,
and an unusually happy choice of colors, Manet has painted die
Spanish company who were dancing at that time at the Hippodrome in
Paris. Among them are Lola de Valence, seated, and, standing, the
famous dancer Mariano Camprubi.
For this painting Manet made a preliminary drawing
heightened with water-color and gouache. After painting the
company, he asked Lola de Valence to pose for him several times.
Jacques de Bietz described Manet at this time: "This rebellious
spirit, who deliberately defied all conventions and despised all
the tricks that win prestige in the artificial world of high
society, was no brute, no coarse stable-boy, no ruffian. Far from
it. It was impossible to deny that this new artistic genius, from
whose alleged noxious and sordid realism society was turning in
disgust, was, as all who had met him could testify, a perfect
gentleman, well-bred and distinguished, amiable and courteous,
and, what is more, most elegantly dressed."
Manet exhibited this work for the first time at the
Galerie Martinet, boulevard des Italiens, in February and March
1863, together with Music in the Tuileries, Lola de Valence,
Street Singer, and Old Musician.
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