Description
Repose is a portrait Édouard Manet painted around 1870–1871: the painter Berthe Morisot, in a long white dress, sits half-reclining on a dark red sofa with a fan in her hand, beneath a Japanese print in blues and greens. The original is oil on canvas, 150.2 x 114 cm, and it belongs to the RISD Museum in Providence, in the United States. Our painter hand-paints Berthe Morisot and her sofa for you in oil on canvas, in 8 portrait sizes from 30 x 40 to 156 x 200 cm, or made to measure. Before Berthe Morisot travels to you, you receive a photograph of the finished canvas.
| Title: | Repose |
| Other titles: | Le Repos (French title) |
| Painter: | Édouard Manet (1832–1883) |
| Year painted: | c. 1870–1871 |
| Original size: | 150.2 cm x 114 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | Oil on canvas |
| Painting style: | Realism and Impressionism |
| Located at: | RISD Museum, Providence, United States |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted in oil on canvas, 8 sizes or made to measure |
Repose – Édouard Manet
What does Repose show?
A young woman with dark hair falling in curls over her shoulders sits on a red sofa with buttoned, tufted upholstery. Her right arm stretches across a round bolster by the backrest, holding a closed fan, while her left hand rests lightly on the seat. She wears a narrow black ribbon at her throat and a thin black belt at her waist.
The white dress is the real star. Its wide skirt spills over the edge of the sofa almost to the floor, scattered with small grey and pink flecks, and Manet painted it in quick, visible brushstrokes. Only one foot in a black shoe peeps out from beneath it onto the wooden parquet.
At the left edge you see part of a pale, patterned armchair; the background is a dark brown wall. Above the woman hangs a Japanese print in blue, green and white, full of waves and swirling shapes. Manet wrote his name in its lower right corner.
Who is the woman on the sofa, and what does her calm mean?
The sitter is the painter Berthe Morisot, a regular model for Manet and a renowned Impressionist in her own right. In 1874 she married Manet’s brother Eugène.
Her gaze seems meditative and absent, as if her thoughts were far from the room she sits in. Manet himself called the work a study in physical and psychological repose, “not at all in the character of a portrait.”
The canvas lives on contrasts. The light dress stands out against the dark furniture and wall, and the woman’s serenity against the violent action of the print above her head. It shows a scene by the Japanese master Utagawa Kuniyoshi in which the Dragon King pursues the diver, or ama, who holds the sacred jewel. Japanese prints like this one were then the fashion in Paris.
Why is Repose so admired?
Édouard Manet (1832–1883) was among the first painters of his century to take modern life as a subject, and he is a pivotal figure in the move from Realism to Impressionism. Two of his paintings from the 1860s caused great scandals and are now seen as the start of modern art.
Repose shows a quieter side of the same painter. Berthe Morisot had been his friend and colleague for several years: they met in 1868, and she is credited with persuading him to try painting outdoors. Through her he grew close to Degas, Monet, Renoir and other Impressionists, yet he never exhibited with them and stayed loyal to the Salon.
Manet painted many portraits of her before she married his brother; here we see her full length, caught in a pause. The Wikipedia article on Repose is short and written in English.
Where is the original today?
The original, oil on canvas measuring 150.2 x 114 cm (height x width), belongs to the RISD Museum, the art museum of the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, United States, under accession number 59.027.
It was painted around 1870–1871, during the Franco-Prussian War. Manet served in the National Guard through the siege of Paris and then left the city for some months; in June 1871 he wrote to Berthe Morisot that he had come back to Paris a few days earlier.
Repose or another Manet?
Repose is a canvas painting for anyone who loves quiet interiors, the glow of white fabric and a face turned inward.
If you like Manet’s people in their own surroundings, look at the Portrait of Émile Zola, the writer at his desk among books with a Japanese print on the wall, or The Spanish Singer, a guitarist in Spanish costume on a green bench. A very different mood fills The Asparagus, one white spear on the edge of a marble table, and Masked Ball at the Opera, a crush of men in top hats and masked women.
Every Manet we paint to order, from famous Manet paintings to quieter portraits, is listed on our Édouard Manet page.
How do we hand-paint Repose?
Manet’s original is over 1.5 metres tall. Ours is an oil painting reproduction worked by our painter in oil on canvas, in the size you choose, built up layer by layer.
He first sets down the diagonal of the sofa and the outline of the woman, which stretches from the fan on the left to her hand on the right, then lays in the dark brown wall and the red upholstery. The white dress he builds from greys, bluish tones and warm whites, so the skirt gains volume and sheen.
Last come the face, the curls, the black ribbon, the small flecks on the fabric and the lively marks of the Japanese print.
Which size suits which wall?
In short: 30 x 40 or 36 x 48 cm for a shelf or a narrow strip of wall, 47 x 62 and 60 x 81 cm for a bedroom or hallway, 77 x 100 and 95 x 128 cm above a sofa or bed, and 120 x 160 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, 47 x 62, 60 x 81, 77 x 100, 95 x 128, 120 x 160 and 156 x 200 cm. The original measures 114 x 150.2 cm (width x height), so all six sizes up to 95 x 128 cm are smaller than it, 120 x 160 cm roughly matches it and is only slightly larger, and 156 x 200 cm clearly exceeds it.
As a painting for the living room it looks best at 95 x 128 or 120 x 160 cm above the sofa, where the sheen of the white dress and the face read clearly.
Is another size or a frame possible?
Yes. For other proportions we keep the woman, the sofa and the print whole and adjust only the margins. Tell us the size you need for the woman in white, and we will quote a price and a date.
We ship the painting rolled, stretched on a stretcher bar or framed, and our workshop in Slovenia handles the stretching and framing. The moulding for the sofa and dress is picked in our 3D app, which only chooses the frame; seeing the painting on your own wall is a separate service.
When will Repose reach you?
The painter begins with the white dress and the red sofa once you confirm, and the painting is ready to ship within 15 to 45 working days. Before packing we send you a photograph of the finished canvas and, if you wish, refine it further.
Within Slovenia and to every other EU country we ship without customs duties, and each order falls under our returns policy.
This quiet woman in white makes a lovely gift for a lover of Impressionism, or for a new home. Not sure about the wall? A wall art voucher lets the recipient pick the size of this quiet portrait.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I see the original?
At the RISD Museum in Providence, United States, under accession number 59.027.
Who is the woman in the white dress?
The painter Berthe Morisot, who married Manet’s brother Eugène in 1874.
Is this a printed reproduction?
No. Every one is a hand-painted copy that our painter brushes in oil on canvas.
How big is the original?
It measures 150.2 x 114 cm (height x width); our 120 x 160 cm size is very close to it, and 156 x 200 cm is larger.
Can I order Repose in a size not on the list?
Of course. Send us the width and height you want, and we prepare an offer with price and timing.
How long does it take to make?
From 15 to 45 working days; before dispatch you also get a photograph of the painting.
Would Repose suit a bedroom, or work as a gift?
Yes. The calm scene in white and warm red suits a bedroom well, and as a present it pleases anyone who likes Manet or the Impressionists.
What does the Japanese print above the woman mean?
Such prints were fashionable at the time; the stormy scene on it contrasts with the stillness of the woman below.
- Subject: Berthe Morisot in a white dress on a red sofa, a fan in her hand and a Japanese print above her head.
- Original: oil on canvas, c. 1870–1871, 150.2 x 114 cm, RISD Museum, Providence.
- Ours: an Édouard Manet reproduction hand-painted in oil on canvas, in 8 portrait sizes from 30 x 40 to 156 x 200 cm, or made to measure.
- Worth knowing: Manet called the work a study in repose, not a portrait.
