__NOTOC__ is a small oil painting by

Édouard Manet Édouard Manet (, ; ; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism. Born ...

, completed between 1877 and 1881. The painting has been little studied within Manet's oeuvre, as art historians have had difficulty finding a place for the work within the development of Manet's art.Ilg, 179

Painting

The pictorial content of the painting is limited to a man who appears to have just shot himself—still holding a gun while slouched on a bed—and a few pieces of furniture. Manet has removed the trappings of earlier depictions of

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

, and provided next to no narrative content or "moralizing tendency". Ulrike Ilg associates the painting with the

realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *Classical Realism *Literary realism, a move ...

Gustave Courbet Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( , , ; 10 June 1819 – 31 December 1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and t ...

, noting that Courbet also used a depiction of death in his '' Burial at Ornans'' (1849–50), a work that Courbet later described as the beginning of his new artistic approach. The realism of has fueled speculation that it depicts an actual suicide, but the subject, if any, is not known.Paradis Speculation has concerned an assistant of Manet who committed suicide in Manet's studio more than a decade earlier. Another suicide proposed to be connected with the painting was that of an artist whom

Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, also , ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of ...

had written about in 1866. Recent critics have downplayed these associations. Manet's approach to this depiction may represent his continuing desire to break from academic tradition, in which a depiction of suicide could only fit within the genre of

history painting History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than any artistic style or specific period. History paintings depict a moment in a narrative story, most often (but not exclusively) Greek and Roman mythology and Bible ...

—where death and suicide would be placed within a narrative associated with sacrifice, idealism, or heroism. Examples in the French language include '' The Death of Socrates'' (1787) by

Jacques-Louis David Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in ...

, which depicts Socrates' choice to kill himself by hemlock rather than go into exile. There is no such grand statement underlying Manet's painting. The artist has not presented a clear time, place, or protagonist. The painting is plainly constructed rather than carefully styled. This departure from tradition would have been controversial with contemporary viewers.Ilg, 182

Notes

Sources

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External links

''Le Suicidé'' page
at the web site of the Foundation E.G. Bührle {{DEFAULTSORT:Suicide, Le Paintings by Édouard Manet Paintings in the Foundation E. G. Bührle Collection Paintings about suicide 1881 paintings

Painting

See also

Notes

Sources

External links