Shop art print and framed art Nana by Edouard Manet

Nana, a work on the verge of scandal

Nana, painted by Édouard Manet in 1877, is a painting that immediately sparked controversy. It depicts a young woman, Nana, a high-class courtesan, putting on make-up in front of her mirror. Dressed only in her undergarments, a petticoat and a sky-blue corset, she stares provocatively at the viewer. To the right, a man in a suit, half-hidden by the edge of the frame, suggests the presence of a client or protector. This painting, measuring 150 × 116 cm, was refused at the Salon de Paris, a major artistic event of the time, due to its subject matter deemed indecent.

Nana, figure of the demi-mondaine

For the character of Nana, Manet drew inspiration from Émile Zola's Rougon-Macquart series. The painting's definitive name was thus given in 1880, when the writer's eponymous novel was released.

Nana embodies the figure of the cocotte, the kept woman who fascinates and scandalizes Second Empire bourgeois society. Manet, a friend of Zola's, drew inspiration from this figure to depict, unvarnished, an aspect of Parisian life of his time. The luxury of the interior, the clothes and the gesture of Nana putting on make-up, everything evokes the world of pleasure and artifice.

Nana: a pictorial modernity

Beyond the subject, it's Manet's way of painting that is innovative. Far from academic conventions, he uses a quick brushstroke, bright colors and bold framing. The viewer is placed almost in the intimacy of Nana, as if he were the client himself. The light, coming from the left, highlights the young woman's body and creates striking contrasts. We note the influence of photography, a burgeoning medium at the time, in this composition that seems to capture a snapshot of life.

Manet's raw realism in Nana

Manet makes no attempt to idealize Nana, nor to judge her. He presents her as she is, in all her reality. This raw realism, in stark contrast to the idealized depictions of women in academic art, is one of the reasons why the painting shocked. It shows a facet of society usually preferred to be hidden, that of prostitution and the venality of relationships. The artistic blurring applied to the man on the right is also significant.

Nana, an emblematic painting of Impressionism

Although Manet was never part of the Impressionist group per se, Nana is often considered an emblematic work of this movement. Its modernity, subject drawn from contemporary life, free brushwork and clear palette make it a precursor of Impressionism. The painting, now on display at the Kunsthalle Museum Hamburg, continues to fascinate and question viewers, testifying to Manet's talent for capturing the essence of his time.

This artwork is a painting from the modern period. It belongs to the impressionism style.