The Races c. 1865s - 1875s
edouardmanet
landscape illustration sketch
quirky sketch
sketch line
pen sketch
incomplete sketchy
linework heavy
sketchwork
pen-ink sketch
france
fantasy sketch
initial sketch
"The Races" is a sketch on paper by French artist Edouard Manet, created between the 1860s and 1870s. The drawing captures a scene of a horse race, with jockeys and horses in the foreground and a crowd of spectators along a fence in the background. The quick, gestural strokes of Manet's charcoal create a dynamic sense of movement, characteristic of his Impressionist style, while the light tones and simplified forms give the drawing a sense of immediacy. Today, "The Races" resides at the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
Comments
Instead of a traditional side view of the race, Édouard Manet presents a radically foreshortened frontal view. We feel as though we are standing on the track, facing the fast-approaching horses. Details are downplayed in favor of expressive lines and contrasts of shading. Manet’s vigorous, almost manic drawing style and unconventional treatment aroused the hostility of critics. But today this image of Paris’s fashionable Longchamp racecourse is regarded as one of the earliest expressions of modern printmaking.
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