The Spanish Singer was painted in 1860 by the then
little-known Manet caused such a stir among younger artists that
they paid a group visit to his studio. Although those artists may
have been excited about Manet's novel technique, what concerns us
is his meaning. Once again, it is the problems that others
complain about that helps pave our way.
Although the figure of the singing guitarist seems
Spanish even contemporaries noted that the costume was inauthentic
and that he seemed posed in a studio. One criticized "the
Marseilles-type jacket and the pants of this guitarrero from
Montmartre." Art critic Emile Zola remarked that while Manet's
public might suppose that his models were Spanish, they ought to
know that Manet kept "Spanish costumes in his studio and liked
their colors."
Many art critics note Manet's most important "error". He
painted a right-handed guitarist playing an instrument strung for
a left-handed player yet thought the "error" inconsequential and
changed nothing when it was pointed out. He did remark, however,
that he "had painted the head in one go" and that when "I looked
at it in my little black mirror... it was all right. I never added
another stroke." Why did the sharp-witted Manet mention the mirror
and why would he be so cavalier about the incorrect
guitar-strings? Remember two points we have discussed elsewhere:
great masters never make mistakes in their important works and
their minds, like ours, are a mirror of reality. Is it
coincidence, then, that when The Spanish Singer is looked at in a
mirror, the guitar-strings resolve themselves? The player becomes
left-handed while still playing a guitar strung for a left-handed
player. No-one has noted that before nor that The Spanish Singer,
as an image of Manet's mind, mirrors reality.
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