Description of the picture:
Plum – Eduard Manet. 1877. Oil on canvas, 76 x 51
If you carefully consider the paintings of Eduard Manet, then there is no hesitation – his painting can be attributed only in style to impressionism, while the choice of plot makes him, by all means, a realist. He was criticized a lot for this, criticized, but the painter always remained true to himself. Exactly 20 years have passed after writing his “Absinthe Lover”, and the master again turned to the topic of alcohol, or rather its consequences, presenting the picture “Plum”.
A lady is sitting at a marble table in front of us. A plum floats in a glass, and a cigarette between her fingers is careless and usually squeezed. Her clothes look messy, and her head is decorated with a tousled hat. The whole appearance of the heroine suggests that she is a regular in drinking establishments.
The compositional construction of the canvas is based on the opposition of horizontal (table) and vertical lines (a patterned window behind the heroine’s back). Even more amazing is the color incarnation – a glossy glossy surface clearly prevails here. The master painted the marble texture of the table especially skillfully. The painter gave preference to lilac and pink color, subtly using their tone variations. The lightness of the stroke and the delicate palette are the main technical features of the work.
The semantic center of the work is the face of the heroine. Eyes, like a mirror of the soul, express extreme sadness, sadness, regret and thoughtfulness. The woman is so turned to herself that she even forgot to light a cigarette and still holds it in her left hand. The heroine clearly left the working class, and her activity was in no way connected with the occupation of the ladies of half the world. Most likely, she comes to while away hours in this cafe after a hard day. Her entire image, painted in pink, symbolizing thoughtfulness and dreaming, contrasts with the dark atmosphere of the hall, returning the heroine to reality, “breathing” hopelessness and longing."