Skating

The 1877 work, Skating, is a testament to Edouard Manet’s mastery of revealing the truth of his times and his vision through brushwork, picture surface, composition, color, and light. The work is a commentary on the social and leisure practices of nineteenth century Parisians. The formal elements of Manet’s work speak to what it was like to experience this moment of Parisian middle class entertainment.

This painting portrays a woman strolling with a child beside an ice rink. Positioned in the center of the canvas, she gazes slightly to the viewer's right, away from figures in the background. The crowd around the rink has come to socialize and watch the skaters on a clear day. The placement of key figures behind the woman and child are important in revealing Manet’s social perspective. The figure cropped in half by the left edge of the canvas is a flaneur, the quintessential nineteenth century man with dark top hat, coat, and an observant eye. A woman in dark dress looks out to the viewer on the right side. The model for this figure, Henriette Hauser, was the mistress of the Prince of Orange and an aspiring actress. Manet painted her several times. This work was in Manet's studio at the time of his death.