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Woman Lying on the Beach. Annabel Lee

Édouard ManetAbout 1881

SMK - Statens Museum for Kunst

SMK - Statens Museum for Kunst
Copenhagen, Danmark

In the summer of 1881,Manet did several drawings for his friend, the poet Stéphane Mallarmé (1842-1898), who in 1877 published Edgar Allan Poe’s (1809-1849) poems in a French prose translation. Les poèmes d’Edgar Poe was reissued in 1888, but Manet’s illustrations only appeared in the subsequent 1889 edition. This drawing accompanied the poem Annabel Lee. The poem's young girl Annabel Lee Poe opens his poem by telling his readers that many years ago, a young girl lived "in a kingdom by the sea". Now she lives on only in the poet’s memories and is recalled in the poem. Manet, however, depicted a woman who was very much alive, a modern young Parisian from his own circles. Manet's depiction of Annabel She is stretched on the beach like a passing exotic bird, a fashionable tourist at one of the seaside resorts in the north of France frequented by the middle classes. Nature serves as a backdrop to the girl in a manner similar to that of another Manet, the notorious Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe (Luncheon on the Grass). Nature as illusion The artist himself never pursued any rural exile; he lived according to the conditions of modernity, and his awareness of these conditions is clearly evident in his pictures. To him, nature was an illusion, a backdrop for modern man’s urban existence.

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  • Title: Woman Lying on the Beach. Annabel Lee
  • Creator: Édouard Manet
  • Creator Lifespan: 1832 Paris - 1883 Paris
  • Creator Nationality: French
  • Creator Gender: Male
  • Creator Death Place: Paris
  • Creator Birth Place: Paris
  • Date Created: About 1881
  • Værktekst: I sommeren 1881 udførte Manet flere tegninger til digteren og vennen Stéphane Mallarmé (1842-1898), der i 1877 havde udsendt Edgar Allan Poes (1809-1849) digte i fransk prosaoversættelse. Les poèmes d’Edgar Poe blev genudgivet i 1888, men først i den følgende udgave fra 1889 forekommer Manets illustrationer. Kobberstiksamlingens tegning var bestemt for digtet Annabel Lee. Digtets unge pige Annabel Lee For mange år siden levede der en ung pige i ”et kongerige ved havet”, indleder Poe sit digt. Nu lever hun kun i digterens erindring og genkaldes i digtet. Men Manet har portrætteret en eksisterende kvinde fra sin egen omgangskreds, en moderne og nærværende ung pariserinde. Manets fremstilling af Annabel Hun ligger udstrakt på stranden som en flygtig og fremmed fugl, en moderigtig turist ved et af de nordfranske badesteder, som borgerskabet frekventerede. Pigen fremtræder med naturen som kulisse på samme måde som i et andet af Manets billeder, det skandaleombruste Frokost i det grønne. Naturen som illusion Kunstneren selv drog heller ikke ud i noget landligt eksil, men levede på modernitetens vilkår og malede bevidstheden om den i sine billeder. Naturen var for ham en illusion, en scene for det moderne menneskes urbaniserede tilværelse.
  • Teknik: Pensel, sort og grå vandfarve over sortkridt; opklæbet på gulnet blågrå, let karton og omrammet med pen og sortbrunt blæk
  • Proveniens: Køb 1927
  • Dansk link: http://www.smk.dk/index.php?id=1303
  • Dansk Titel: Annabel Lee. Kvinde liggende på stranden
  • Physical Dimensions: w40.9 x h30.2 cm (Without frame)
  • Provenance: Acquired 1927
  • Type: Drawing
  • Rights: Statens Museum for Kunst, http://www.smk.dk/en/copyright/creative-commons/
  • Medium: Brush, grey and black ink over black chalk; framed in pen and blackish brown ink
SMK - Statens Museum for Kunst

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