Raphael and Raimondi’s The Judgement of Paris vs Manet’s Déjénenuer sur l’herbe, and Titian’s Pastoral Concert
It might look bizarre at first sight but there is always a link to be followed to understand much better the history of Art throughout time. On this occasion I wish to show what possible links might have ever existed between Rafael's The Judgement of Paris through Marcantonio Raimondi's engraving of the work (c.1510-20) and Édouard Manet’s Déjeneur sur l’herbe (1863), and Titian’s Pastoral Concert (1509).
The great humanist of the Renaissance, Pietro Bembo, was responsible for putting the perfection of Nature and Raphael’s art on the same level; the epitaph in Raphael’s tomb reads something like “Here lies Rafael. While he lived, Nature saw herself defeated. Now that he is dead, she is afraid to die with him."
His genius, indeed, was unique, so much so that many ulterior artists of all centuries strove to imitate or, at least, to be influenced by the artistry of the great old master: The classicist Baroque had him as his guide, from Annibale Carracci to Carlo Maratta and Velázquez, who resided for a time at the Vatican; or the Flemish masters, like Rubens and Van Dyck; and even the great Rembrandt. We could continue with Ingrès (in his portraits) to the compositions of Géricault and Delacroix, and to Édouard Manet, whose Breakfast on the grass was inspired by the stamp of Marcantonio Raimondi depicting the Judgement of Paris (as designed by Raffaello). Well, Rafael was the teacher to whom painters like Goya, or Picasso looked at.
In fact, our great old master, Raphael, was considered for centuries to come as the great teacher everyone studied and whose spatial conquests, grouping of figures and capturing of emotions and characters had to be thoroughly understood in order to achieve success themselves.
At the age of 17 Rafael was already signing as an independent artist, admired for the perfect imitation of his teacher. His painting stood out for the elegance and serenity or the delicacy and sweetness of the figures in the manner of Perugino, as well as for the beauty of the landscape backgrounds inspired by the Umbrian mountains; Rafael also achieved expressive depth and emotional vibration, which would increase in later years.
Being in Florence to learn from the great masters Leonardo and Michelangelo, Rafael, although he leaned towards Leonardo's proposals, since he would be attracted by his technique, color and chiaroscuro, and would not, however, be interested in delving into his sfumato nor did he use Michelangelo's pure white light with a sculptural effect. His command of space was overwhelming, as proved in his work School of Athens.
Collaboration in Renaissance arts is best seen in this engraving of Marcantonio Raimondi with the design of Raffaello. The Trojan war lies at the centre of this historiated engraving: Paris being forced to decide which goddess—Juno, Minerva, or Venus—was the most beautiful. He chose Venus, seen receiving the golden apple upon promising to help him woo the most beautiful woman alive, Helen of Troy.
It is assumed that Marcantonio’s copperplate is executed from drawings that were produced for a Vatican fresco.
Due to the difficulty of distinguishing between the work of the two artists –Giorgione and Titian– who started to forge a kind of partnership in artistic terms, this painting was first attributed to Giorgone (1671) and then opinions on the author have been changing back and forth many times. Today, it’s commonly assumed to be the work of a young Titian. After the death of Giorgione in Venice because of the plague in 1510, the only true master left was Tiziano Vecellio as, perhaps, Giorgione’s natural heir.
A most mysterious work in terms of allegorical interpretation (are the female nudes muses, or nymphs? Do they refer to Poetry? Is the composition a sort of Pastoral Poetry in painting?) which, perhaps, lacking in enough referents for the audience of the XXI century, however, there would probably be clues enough to the educated spectators of the Titian’s time to interpret the painting in the context intended by the artist and his time. In this regard, the setting of the whole composition evokes a kind of Arcadian context in which both man and nature lived in perfect harmony (see Theocritus, Virgil, Jacopo Sannazzaro). Thus, the two men figures, sitting on the grass surrounded by a great landscape –a shady hillside overlooking sunny glens and a distant mountain vista–, are accompanied by a couple of nude females who (supposedly) cannot be seen by either of them. And this seems so since the two men are amicably speaking to one another, oblivious to the two female nudes representing the idealized Renaissance beauty. This type of recourse has its origin in classical Roman times where it was a usual artistic tool in that art. Technically, Giorgione’s subject matter and style left his impromptu on Titian’s works; Giorgione would be the first Venetian to put aside Giovanni Bellini’s oil glazes in favour of a straightforward oil painting, that was to be apply with different densities and even allowing for the thick impasto seen in some canvasses, something that was followed suit by Titian.
Titian's poem to rural escape is famous for being parodied by Manet's Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe.
"Insults pour down on me like hail," Manet complained to Baudelaire after seeing the hostile reception of his work at the Salon des Refusés in 1863.
Manet’s painting introduces a motif the impressionists would love – the bourgeois picnic – but with a tough irony all its own. Manet deliberately evokes Renaissance paintings of sensual leisure – Raimondi’s engraving and Titian’s painting – but updates the idyll to show bohemian gents of his own class accompanied by women who may be prostitutes (what is a naked woman doing sitting in the company of two supposedly clothed gentlemen?) It's a scene of the outskirts of Paris daily life disguised as a rustic fantasy. Therefore, what Manet reflects is not any classical myth nor religious topic, just an ordinary scene but with the eyes of a XIXth century artist and a particular social milieu which love such representations.
As was the case at the time, female nudes were highly sought after and really appreciated, as long as they represented mythical personae or just goddesses; many viewers loved to contemplate the paintings that included nudes as if they were voyeurs; the point is, however, that Paris society (or French or European in general!) perceived the public exposure of the naked body of a known woman (in real life or in canvas) as being a prostitute; something which our main female character seems not to give importance to the voyeuristic gazes that she might be attracting; her pose is quite natural and she does not seem to be bothered or untroubled by the look of it. Furthermore, both she and the man are looking straightforward to the spectator in a certain nonchalant and confident way. One could even say that the naked woman (one of Manet’s most famous models, by the way, called Victorine Meurent) is nearly challenging the spectator’s gaze with her serene, jolly and carefree manner.
The Judgement of Paris, c. 1510-20. Engraving (29.1 x 43.7 cm). The MET. New York. Marcantonio Raimondi (c.1480-c.1534)
Pastoral Concert or Fête champêtre, c.1508-10. Oil on canvas. 105 x 137 cm. Musée du Louvre, Paris. Tiziano Vecellio, (Pieve di Cadore, 1488/1490 - Venice, 1576)
Le Déjenuer sur l’herbe, 1863 Oil on canvas. 208 x 264.5 cm. Musée d’Orsay. Paris. Édouard Manet (1832-1883)
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