Description
The Old Musician is one of Édouard Manet’s largest canvases, painted in 1862: in an open landscape under a cloudy sky a bearded violinist in a brown coat sits on a stone, surrounded by a girl holding a baby, two boys, a man in a top hat and an old man at the right edge. The original is oil on canvas, 187.4 x 248.2 cm, and it belongs to the National Gallery of Art in Washington. Our painter paints it for you by hand in oil on canvas, in 8 landscape sizes from 40 x 30 to 195 x 140 cm, or made to measure. We send you a photograph of it before it ships.
| Title: | The Old Musician |
| Other titles: | Le Vieux Musicien (French title) · Der alte Musikant (German title) |
| Painter: | Édouard Manet (1832–1883) |
| Year painted: | 1862 |
| Original size: | 187.4 cm x 248.2 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | Oil on canvas |
| Painting style: | Realism and Impressionism |
| Located at: | National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., United States |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted in oil on canvas, 8 sizes or made to measure |
The Old Musician – Édouard Manet
What does The Old Musician show?
Seven figures stand in a loose row across a wide, pale landscape. In the middle, on a block of stone, sits an old violinist with grey curls and a thick beard. A long brown cloak hangs from his shoulders over a white shirt. He holds the reddish-brown violin in his left hand and the bow in his right, and he looks at us calmly, as if about to start playing.
On the left a barefoot girl in a blue skirt and a dark jacket carries a fair-haired infant and has turned away, her curly brown hair almost hiding her face. Beside her stand two boys: the smaller, in a loose white smock and a broad straw hat, stares straight out at us, while the older one, in a dark waistcoat, has laid a friendly hand on his shoulder.
On the right a tall man in a black top hat is wrapped in a long brown cloak, and at the very edge an old man in a turban and long robe appears, cut in half by the border of the canvas. At the top left vine leaves and a bunch of grapes lean over the scene, the sky is full of grey and white clouds with patches of blue, and a white bundle lies at the violinist’s feet. Manet signed his name at the lower right.
Who are the people around the violinist?
According to English Wikipedia, the violinist is Jean Lagrène, the leader of a local Romani band. The man in the top hat behind him is the rag picker and ironmonger Colardet, and the old man in a turban and long robe at the right edge is Guéroult.
The canvas is full of allusions. The man in the top hat is the same character as in The Absinthe Drinker, which Manet had painted a few years earlier, and he turns up here for no particular reason. The boy in the straw hat is explicitly inspired by Antoine Watteau’s Pierrot, and the poses and clothes of the whole group recall Diego Velázquez or Louis Le Nain.
Manet never explains what brought these people together: nobody speaks, and several faces look straight at us.
Why does The Old Musician matter?
Manet painted it in 1862, when Spanish art had a strong hold on him, and the influence of Gustave Courbet shows in it too.
Édouard Manet (1832–1883) was born in Paris into a wealthy family, trained for six years under Thomas Couture and copied Velázquez and Titian in the Louvre. He was one of the first painters of his century to turn to modern life, and a decisive figure between Realism and Impressionism.
A year later Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe caused an uproar at the Salon des Refusés, followed by Olympia in 1865. So this canvas comes just before the break now seen as the start of modern art, and it belongs on any list of famous Manet paintings. For more on the sitters, read the Wikipedia article on the painting, written in English.
Where is the original, and how big is it?
The original, oil on canvas measuring 187.4 x 248.2 cm (height x width), belongs to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, under accession number 1963.10.162.
For Manet’s early years, almost two and a half metres of width is exceptional.
The Old Musician or another Manet?
This is a canvas painting for anyone who likes quiet group scenes, earthy colours and faces that look straight out into the room.
Another young musician appears in The Fifer, a boy in military uniform against a plain grey ground. Music in the open air, this time among elegant Parisians, fills Music in the Tuileries. For the lighter, later Manet, look at Spring (Jeanne) and Claude Monet Painting on His Boat.
Every Manet we paint to order is on our Édouard Manet page.
How do we hand-paint The Old Musician?
Manet’s original is an oil on canvas of almost 190 x 250 cm. Ours is an oil painting reproduction: the painter transfers the seven figures to a new canvas in oil, at the size you pick, and builds them up in several layers.
He first spreads the seven figures across the surface and fixes the violinist on his stone, since the group turns around him. Then come the browns of the cloaks, the girl’s blue skirt and the white smock, with the sky and vine leaves in looser strokes.
Last come the faces, the straw hat, the reddish wood of the violin and the thin line of the bow, kept clear and expressive even in the smaller sizes.
Which size suits which wall?
In short: 40 x 30 or 45 x 35 cm for a shelf or a small corner, 63 x 48 and 81 x 60 cm above a chest of drawers or in a hallway, 99 x 78 and 115 x 89 cm above a sofa, and 145 x 113 or 195 x 140 cm for a large wall.
We paint it in 8 landscape sizes (width x height): 40 x 30, 45 x 35, 63 x 48, 81 x 60, 99 x 78, 115 x 89, 145 x 113 and 195 x 140 cm. The original measures 248.2 x 187.4 cm (width x height), so all eight sizes are smaller, and even the largest, 195 x 140 cm, reaches about four fifths of its width.
As a painting for the living room it works best at 115 x 89 or 145 x 113 cm above the sofa, where every face is large enough to pick out one by one.
Can I order another size or a frame?
Yes. If your wall needs different proportions, we keep the seven figures and the violin whole and adjust the sky or the strip of ground, so nobody in the group is lost. Send us the measurements you need, and we will reply with a price and a delivery date.
We ship it rolled, stretched on a stretcher bar or framed; our workshop in Slovenia does the stretching and framing and packs every painting with care. You choose the moulding in our 3D app, which serves only to pick the frame; seeing the painting on your own wall is a separate service.
When will The Old Musician arrive?
Work on the violinist and his listeners begins once you confirm the order, and the painting is ready to ship within 15 to 45 working days. Before packing it we send you a photograph of the finished painting and make any changes you ask for.
Shipped within Slovenia or anywhere else in the EU, the parcel carries no customs duties, and our returns policy applies to every order.
A scene with a violinist and children makes a fine present for a musician, a music teacher or a family that plays together. If you are unsure of the wall, a wall art voucher leaves the size to the person who receives it.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I see the original?
At the National Gallery of Art in Washington, under accession number 1963.10.162.
Who is the violinist?
According to English Wikipedia, Jean Lagrène, the leader of a local Romani band.
Is this a print?
No. It is a hand-painted copy: our painter brushes every figure in oil on canvas.
How large is the original?
It measures 187.4 x 248.2 cm (height x width); all 8 of our sizes are smaller.
Will you paint it in a size other than these eight?
Of course. Write to us with the width and height you need, and we will send an offer with a price and a delivery time.
How long does it take to make?
Between 15 and 45 working days, and before it ships you get a photograph of the finished painting.
Does it suit a bedroom or a dining room?
Its calm earth tones suit a dining room, library or music room; for a bedroom choose a smaller size, such as 63 x 48 cm.
Who is the man in the top hat?
The rag picker Colardet, the same character as in Manet’s earlier painting The Absinthe Drinker.
- Subject: an old violinist on a stone, with a girl holding a baby, two boys, a man in a top hat and an old man in a turban around him.
- Original: oil on canvas, 1862, 187.4 x 248.2 cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington.
- Ours: an Édouard Manet reproduction painted by hand in oil on canvas, 8 sizes from 40 x 30 to 195 x 140 cm, or made to measure.
- Worth knowing: one of Manet’s largest paintings; the man in the top hat is the same as in The Absinthe Drinker.
