Manet and the Object of PaintingIn this encounter between one of the 20th century's greatest minds and an artist fundamental to the development of modern art, French philosopher Michel Foucault explores Edouard Manet's importance in the overthrow of traditional values in painting. Originally delivered in Tunis in 1971 as part of a conference on Manet and here translated into English for the first time, this powerful critique takes the form of a commentary on 13 of Manet's paintings. For the political-minded philosopher, the connection between visual art and power was clear: art is not an aesthetic pursuit, but a means to explore--and challenge--power dynamics. A precursor to Foucault's later work on le regard, or the gaze, the text examines paintings like Un Bar aux Folies-Bergere, where Manet used the mirror to imply the multiple gaze of the waitress, the viewer, and the man at the bar, who may or may not be the artist himself. Foucault used Manet as a basis for a wider exploration of culture. With a new introduction by leading French critic and Tate curator Nicolas Bourriaud and a note on the translation by Matthew Barr, this is a major contribution to the fields of both modern philosophy and art history. |
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absolutely Argenteuil Balcony Birth canvas cm Musée d'Orsay cm National Gallery colours contrary depth discourse distance Dits et écrits effect Execution of Maximilien fifer Folies-Bergère full shot fundamental gaze Georges Bataille Gilles Deleuze Grass Greenhouse group of pictures hand Havemeyer heterotopia horizontal and vertical illuminates Impressionism possible indicated inside the picture interior light invisible light source light which strikes lighting comes looking Luncheon Magritte Manet treated Manet's painting mask material properties Michel Foucault mirror NICOLAS BOURRIAUD normative space nude nudity Object of Painting Oil on canvas Olympia Opera Order of Things painter Paris picture-object play plunging view precisely quattrocento real light rectangle rectangular surface recto reflection René Magritte representation represented reproduction rupture Saint-Lazare Station scene seen sense shadow sidestep simply speak spectacle technique Tel Quel three figures Tunis Tunisia verso vertical axes verticals and horizontals viewer forget Waitress wall western painting window woman