Édouard Manet – Argenteuil

Argenteuil is Édouard Manet’s painting of summer 1874: a man in a red-and-white striped top and a straw boater sits close beside a woman in a blue-and-white striped dress on a wooden landing stage, with the deep blue Seine, sailing boats and the town of Argenteuil behind them. The original is oil on canvas, 148.5 cm high, and belongs to the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Tournai, Belgium. Our painter paints it for you by hand in oil on canvas, in 8 portrait sizes from 30 x 40 to 156 x 200 cm, or made to measure.

Argenteuil – Édouard Manet

What does Argenteuil show?

On a wooden landing stage by the river a man and a woman sit side by side. He wears a red-and-white striped top with rolled sleeves, pale trousers and a straw boater with a red band; with a ginger moustache, crossed legs and a furled parasol in his right hand, he turns towards his companion.

The woman sits upright and looks straight out at us. She wears a dress striped in blue and white, a dark straw hat wrapped in white tulle, and in her lap lies a bunch of wild flowers with one red bloom. Her face is calm, almost blank, in sharp contrast to the attentive gaze of the man beside her.

On the left rises a thick wooden mast hung with ropes; on the right a half-furled sail sits above a white hull. Behind the pair the deep blue Seine stretches out in small waves, and on the far bank Argenteuil shows its houses, a church spire, a factory chimney and trees. Lower right, on a plank of the landing stage, Manet signed his name and added the year 1874.

What does the scene on the Seine tell us?

Manet spent the summer of 1874 at Gennevilliers and often visited Claude Monet, who had lived at Argenteuil since 1873. Art historians read the painting as Manet’s response to Monet’s scenes of similar subjects.

The mast, the woman and the factory chimney form the verticals; the parapet of the landing stage, the parasol in the man’s hands and the river bank run across. Between them Manet scatters small touches of colour: the white on the hat, the flowers in the woman’s lap and the red band on the boater. Françoise Cachin wrote that here Manet shows the lively, dazzling style of the Impressionists while remaining deliberate and composed.

For T. J. Clark, what looks like the chimney reflected in the water is in fact a rope hanging from a boat’s boom, a kind of joke about things that seem to connect but do not. In his reading the painting shows a new form of life: placid and modest, yet with a claim to pleasure.

Why does Argenteuil matter so much?

Manet, born in Paris in 1832, was among the first in the 19th century to paint the everyday life of his own time, which is why he is seen as a bridge between Realism and Impressionism. Argenteuil is one of his first works to be regarded as fully Impressionist, thanks to its natural style and its bold palette.

When the Impressionists held their first group exhibition in 1874, Manet stayed away and showed Argenteuil in 1875 at the more traditional Paris Salon, bringing Impressionism to a wider public.

At the Salon the painting met harsh reviews, mostly about the colour of the water. The critic Rousseau mocked it as marmalade from Argenteuil spread on an indigo river. Chesneau asked why water that is blue on some days must be painted green, and Castagnary wrote that what Manet paints is contemporary life. For more, see the Wikipedia article on the painting, written in English.

Where is the original, and who sat for it?

The original, oil on canvas measuring 148.5 x 114.5 cm (height x width), hangs in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Tournai, Belgium, as inventory number 438.

Manet kept the painting until his death. Henri Van Cutsem then bought it from his widow, Suzanne Manet, and later bequeathed his collection to the city of Tournai.

Manet’s brother-in-law Rodolph Leenhoff posed for the man; who the woman was is not known.

Argenteuil or another Manet?

Argenteuil suits anyone drawn to summer on the water: sails, sunshine, a blue river and two people taking time for each other.

If you want Manet by the sea, there is On the Beach, a veiled woman reading on the sand. Café life appears in At the Café and The Plum, and the darker side of the city in The Absinthe Drinker, Manet’s first major painting.

Our Édouard Manet shelf holds more famous Manet paintings, each painted by hand on request.

How do we hand-paint Argenteuil?

Manet’s original is a large oil on canvas, almost one and a half metres tall. What we make is an oil painting reproduction: the painter builds it up by hand in oil on canvas, one layer after another, in the size you chose.

He first lays down the frame of the composition: mast, woman and chimney upright, parapet, parasol and bank across. Then come the deep blue river and the pale sky, followed by the striped clothes, which Manet painted with quick, visible strokes.

Last he adds the small accents of colour that bring the scene alive: the white tulle on the hat, the red flower in the bunch and the red hatband. Our painter keeps the blue as bold as Manet’s, the colour that upset the critics in 1875.

Which size suits which wall?

In short: 30 x 40 or 36 x 48 cm for a shelf or a narrow corner, 48 x 60 and 60 x 81 cm for a hallway or bedroom, 77 x 100 and 97 x 127 cm above a sofa or sideboard, and 124 x 157 or 156 x 200 cm for a tall wall.

We paint it in 8 portrait sizes (width x height): 30 x 40, 36 x 48, 48 x 60, 60 x 81, 77 x 100, 97 x 127, 124 x 157 and 156 x 200 cm. The original measures 114.5 x 148.5 cm (width x height), so the six sizes up to 97 x 127 cm are smaller than it, 124 x 157 cm is slightly larger, and 156 x 200 cm is clearly larger.

As a painting for the living room it works best at 97 x 127 or 124 x 157 cm.

Can I order a different size or a frame?

Yes. If your wall needs other proportions, the couple on the landing stage and the mast stay whole, and we adjust only a strip of sky or river at the edge. Send us the size you need, and we reply with a price and a delivery date.

We ship it rolled, stretched on a stretcher bar or framed; our workshop in Slovenia stretches and frames each canvas painting and packs it with care. A natural-wood moulding that echoes the landing stage can be picked in our 3D app, a tool made only for choosing frames; a view of the painting on your own wall is a separate service.

When will your Argenteuil arrive?

Work begins once you confirm the order, and within 15 to 45 working days the couple on the landing stage is ready to travel. Before it leaves, we send you a photograph of the finished work and change anything you ask for.

Across the EU there are no customs duties, and our returns policy covers every order.

It makes a lovely gift for sailors, water lovers or a couple celebrating an anniversary. Unsure of the wall? A gift voucher leaves the size to the recipient.

Frequently asked questions

Where can I see the original?

At the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Tournai, Belgium, under inventory number 438.

Who posed for the man in the striped top?

Manet’s brother-in-law Rodolph Leenhoff; the woman remains unknown.

Is it a print or a real painting?

A real painting: a hand-painted copy, worked by our painter with brushes in oil on canvas.

How big is the original?

It measures 148.5 x 114.5 cm (height x width); our 124 x 157 and 156 x 200 cm sizes (width x height) are larger.

Can I have Argenteuil in a size that is not on the list?

Of course: send us the width and height, and we will quote a price and timing.

How long do painting and delivery take?

Between 15 and 45 working days until it ships, and you see a photograph of your Argenteuil before it goes.

Does it suit a bedroom or a living room?

Yes. The bright summer palette feels restful in a bedroom, and a larger size holds a living room wall.

Why did critics object to the blue water?

They found the river far too blue; Rousseau called it an indigo river, while Chesneau took Manet’s side.

• Subject: a man in a striped top and a woman in a striped dress on a landing stage by the Seine, with sailing boats and the town of Argenteuil behind.
• Original: oil on canvas, 1874, 148.5 x 114.5 cm, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Tournai.
• Ours: an Édouard Manet reproduction painted by hand in oil on canvas, 8 sizes from 30 x 40 to 156 x 200 cm, or made to measure.
• Worth knowing: Manet painted it near Monet in summer 1874 and showed it at the Salon of 1875.