The Jetty of Boulogne-sur-Mer
Currently on view
Edouard Manet (1832 - 1883), Boulogne-sur-Mer, 1868
oil on canvas, 59.5 cm x 73.3 cm
Credits (obliged to state): Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (purchased with support from the VriendenLoterij, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the Mondriaan Fund, the Rabobank, the Rembrandt Association, with the additional support from the Cultuurfonds, the VSBfonds and the Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
The Jetty of Boulogne-sur-Mer is intriguing due to its somewhat ambiguous composition: a sailboat is moored between two jetties in the sea on tall stilts. Manet crafted a balanced composition, with strong horizontal, vertical, and diagonal elements. Yet this view was never something Manet saw in reality. He did not paint it on-site but created it later based on numerous sketches, from which he assembled a highly stylised and fictional seascape.
By the time Van Gogh arrived in Paris in 1886, Manet was regarded as the quintessential modern artist. While Van Gogh also found his work ‘very original,’ he did not rank him ‘among the very best of this century.’