Édouard Manet

M. Brun, Paris (acquired from the artist)

Thence by descent

Paris, Galerie Charpentier, Portraits français, 1945, no. 70

Paris, Galerie Charpentier, Cent portraits d'hommes, 1952

Denis Rouart & Georges Wildenstein, Edouard Manet, Catalogue raisonné, vol. I, Lausanne & Paris, 1975, no. 327, illustrated p. 255

Very good condition. The paper support is laid down to its original canvas lining and is stable and in very good condition. Under UV light, there are two vertical parallel lines (possible scratches) barely visible next to the lower right edge of canvas.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Manet's handsome portrait of Monsieur Brun dates from the end of the artist's prodigious career.  The present composition is one of two renderings of the gentleman subject and aristrocratic friend of the artist, and it is the version that has been in Brun's family since it was painted in 1880.  A larger, nearly identical composition was purchased by Kojiro Matsukata and is now in the collection of the Bridgestone Museum in Tokyo.  The present work, which Brun deemed the more desirable of the two compositions, is the more nuanced version and beautifully captures the elegance and style of the dapper man posing en plein air, which was Manet's preferable mode for portraying his subjects. 

Manet's candid approach to portraiture did not always meet with the approval of his clients.  As he was known for synthesizing certain characteristics of his sitters to convey their general character, Manet's portraits were often rejected by his commissioners in favor of more flattering renditions of the same subject.  The journalist and politician Antonin Proust, who famously had his own likeness painted by Manet the year before he painted the present work, provides the following account of the experience of sitting for the artist:  "During the course of that year, 1879, Manet was obsessed by two idées fixes:  to do a plein-air painting... and to paint my portrait on unprepared white canvas, in a single sitting....." (Manet (exhibition catalogue), The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, p. 449).  Indeed, the present work evidences a spontaneity and painterly freedom that would come to define the style of Manet's most successful works. 

At the end of his life, Manet reflected on his skills as a portrait painter, and summarized his philosophy in the following terms;  "Conciseness in art is a necessity and a grace," Manet once advised a young painter.  "In a figure, look for the full light and the full shadow, the rest will come naturally.... And then, cultivate your memory; for nature will never give you more than information – [memory] is a lifeline that saves you from falling into banality.  At all times, you must be the master, and do what pleases you.  No set pieces!  Please, no set pieces!"