Edouard Manet - Races at Longchamp 1867

Races at Longchamp 1867
Races at Longchamp
1867 43х84cm oil/canvas
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

« previous picture | Edouard Manet | next picture »

Eva Gonzalès 1849 – 1883. French painter known for her depictions of contemporary Parisian life and an aesthetic that reflects the strong influence of her mentor, Édouard Manet. ArtsViewer.com

From Art Institute of Chicago:
With a characteristic focus on the pleasures of modern life, Édouard Manet depicted this scene of the racetrack in the Bois de Boulogne, on the western outskirts of Paris. The popularity of Longchamp, where races were run for the first time in 1857, signaled a general revival in French horse racing. This painting records the last moments of a race, as the horses rush past the finish line, indicated by the pole with a circular top. Unlike traditional sporting artists, who always showed races from the side, Manet dared to compose the scene so that the throng of horses and jockeys thunders straight toward the viewer.
— Permanent collection label