Impressionism: a historical reconstruction

Impressionism

according to Mallarmé

Introduction:
Stéphane Mallarmé (1842-98) was a poet, writer (on Symbolism) and art-critic. He defended (para-)impressionists’ like Manet, Whistler and Morisot. His house at the Rue de Rome was a meeting place on Tuesdays, since 1880 (R2,p27;R3). He was befriended with Degas, Morisot, Redon, Renoir, Whistler. In 1883 he began to admire Gauguin. April 1892 he persuaded the state to buy Renoir’s ‘young girls at the piano’↓ (R31,no.91). At the end of 1892 Renoir made a portrait of him; the sketch is now in Mexico (iR6); the finished, dated and dedicated painting in Musée d’Orsay (M1), but it is unclear if Mallarmé ever owned this painting. 1898/09/09 Mallarmé died. Renoir attended his funeral two days later.

Important is his article “The Impressionists and Edouard Manet” (1876/09/30), about the views and aims of the Impressionists. Placing Manet in the centre, Monet, Sisley and Pissarro in the circle around him (they paint wondrously alike) and in a second circle Degas, Morisot, Renoir and Whistler (they share in most of the art theories mentioned). But, the influence of Manet ‘sways all the painters of the day’. Mallarmé namely mentions as technique the combination of the cut off canvasses and the Eastern perspective, with the capturing of the natural light of day in the open air with fresh colours and the use of a light touch (inspired by the English school).
See for an extended summary here below.

Mallarmé never reviewed the 8 ‘impressionist’ expositions (R90I,p481). In 1874 he had defended Manet in his article ‘Le Jury de Peinture pour 1874 et Monsieur Manet’ (in: Renaissance) (R120I,p202).
Mallarmé hardly owned works of the Impressionists. He owned the portrait that Manet had made of him in 1876 (in his studio) (R120I,no.249; iR193I,p218-219). At the 1884/02/04+05 sale at Hôtel Drouot, Mallarmé bought a pastel made by Manet (R120II,P4; iR193II,p12-13). In 1890 Monet gave the following painting to Mallarmé: 1884ca, CR912, The train at Jeufosse, 60×81, A1989/06/19 (R22,no912; iR6). This was the only painting of Monet, he ever owned (R22IV,p1051). As far as I know Mallarmé never owned a painting of Pissarro (R116III,p945), nor of Sisley (R396,p520). I don’t know if Mallarmé ever owned a work of Morisot or Renoir.

 

The Impressionists and Edouard Manet (1876):
Stéphane Mallarmé wrote in 1876 an article that was called “The Impressionists and Edouard Manet“. It was published 1876/09/30 in the 1st volume (no.9, pages 117-122) of the Art Monthly Review and Photographic Portfolio in London. This article is reprinted in Moffett (1986=R2,p27-35 and Berson (1996=R90I,p91-97). Eisenman extendedly relates to this article, focusing on the political link, the theory of open air and the simplicity (R2,p53-55).

This article concerns ’the views and aims of the Impressionists, and especially those of Manet.’ It was an ‘excellent translation’, ‘except for some easily rectified mistranslations’, of the original text of Mallarmé, which is now lost. (R2,p27)

Mallarmé starts with ‘a short glimpse backward on art history’. He mentions that novelty at our annual exhibitions (meaning the Salon) was rare till 1860 1 ‘when Courbet began to exhibit his works’. Mallarmé defines Realism as ‘it sought to impress itself upon the mind by the lively depiction of things as they appeared to be, and vigorously excluded all meddlesome imagination’. It was a great movement, but in the midst of this, began to appear, at the Salon and the galleries of the rejected, works of Edouard Manet. (Mallarmé sidely mentions Charles Baudelaire and Emile Zola.)

Mallarmé refers to the special exhibition in 1867 of the works of Manet and some few of his followers of the then nameless school. Manet was condemned by the jury (of the Salon) as a heritic 2. But, the people rushed to see his works in his own studio, at the Boulevard des Italiens and at the galleries of Durand Ruel in 1874 and 1876, to see the works of those then styled the Intransigeants, now the Impressionists 3. Here occured a crises in art, with a collection of pictures ‘giving the ordinary impression of the motive … outside mere Realism‘.

Manet told that ‘each work should be a new creation of mind. … seeing only that which it looks upon … as for the first time’. Mallarmé mentions that Manet was inspired by Valesquez (his compositions) and the painters of the Flemish school (and their brilliant tones). He writes about ‘Manet’s first manner’, mentions his Olympia (=RW694; 1863; S1865-1428; M1), ‘one of his first works’, as a non-traditional, unconventional nude. Then he mentions a ’transition period’, using ‘new laws of space and light’ and painting the truth, mentioning Un déjeuner sur l’herbe (=RW67; 1863; SdR-1863-363; M1), L’Exécution de Maximilien (=!? RW127; 1868/69; S1869-R; iR6), Un coin de table (=? RW135, 1868/69; S1869-1617; iR6), Des gens du Monde à la fenêtre (=? RW134; 1868/69; S1869-1616; M1), Le Bon Bock (=RW186; 1873; S1873-999; iR6), Un Coin de Bal de l’Opéra (=!? RW216; 1873/74; S1874-R; M21), Le Chemin de fer (=RW207; 1873; S1874-1260;M21) and the two Canotiers (=?RW223; 1874; S1879-2011;M23); ’these are the pictures which step by step have marked each round in the ladder scaled by this bold innovator’5, whom he earlier called ’the chief of the new school of painting’. All these steps let to a ’truly marvellous work… Le Linge .. which marks a date .. in the history of art’ (=RW237; 1875; S1876-R; iR6).

The aim of Manet was … to impress upon his work a natural and a general law, to seek out a type6 rather than a personality, and to flood it with light and air’. Mallarmé makes some notes on ’the theory of open air’ and states that ‘in the atmosphere of any interior… the reflected lights are mixed and broken and too often discolour the flesh tints.’ And: ‘The natural light of day penetrating into and influencing all things… reigns also on “The Linen” in which the contours are ‘consumed by the sun’. Mallarmé then describes this painting connecting it again with the open air theory: ‘in open air alone can the flesh tints of a model keep their true qualities’. He calls it a new manner of painting to reproduce nature ‘as she appears to just and pure eyes’ and ’to suppress individuality for the benefit of nature’. The desired effect can only be obtained by the use of simple, fresh tones and a lightness of touch (earlier used by the English school). In this way the painting ‘palpitates with movement, light and life’. Manet cuts of the canvas ‘so as to produce an illusion’, using an ‘artists perspective which we learn from the extreme East’. The newness is in the assemblage for the first time of these processes.

Mallarmé praises the ‘supreme originality’ of Manet, whom he sees as the initiator and ‘head of the school of Impressionists’, naming Eva Gonzales as one of his pupils. ‘But his influence … is wider spread. (…) There is indeed no painter of consequence who during the last few years has not adopted or pondered over some one of the theories advanced by the Impressionists, and notably that of the open air, which influences all modern artistic thought.’ As examples he mentions Fantin-Latour and Chintreuil.

Mallarmé mentions Monet, Sisley and Pissarro 7 as his followers, who ‘paint wondrously alike’ 8. ‘Claude Monet loves water, and it is his especial gift to portray its mobility and transparency…’ He praises Sisley for his rendering of skies and the passing moments of the day, namely in Spring and Autumn. Pissarro ‘loves the thich shade of summer woods and the green earth’. ‘The most successful work of these three painters is distinguished by a sure yet wonderfully rapid execution.’ Mallarmé calls them ‘before everything landscape painters’.

Mallarmé mentions some other artists that ‘share in most of the art theories I have reviewed here’. Degas, a master of drawing, who renders his ballet-dancers and washerwomen with delicate lines and movements, without sentimentality. Mallarmé shortly describes some works of Morisot 7, ‘sketches from contemporary life’ and praises the elegance, the perfect ignorance of the sitters and the so well painted pose. He praises the favourite effect of Renoir, the ‘shifting shimmer of gleam and shadow which the changing reflected lights … cast upon’ figures. He also likes to join Whistler, but only mentions that he is well appreciated. Mallarmé mentions that the fearless Cézanne 7 pushes all these effects even farther. (He sidely remarks that Impressionism isn’t the only movement of contemporary painting and mentions artists like (Gustave) Moreau and Puvis de Chavannes 9.) He praises the ’truth, simplicity and child-like charm and concludes ’the transition from the old imaginative artist and dreamer (from the Romantic tradition) to the energetic modern worker is found in Impressionism.’ Mallarmé sees a parallel with the radical and democratic Intransigeants in politics. He seems to end with an extended quotation, mentioning the ‘delight of having recreated nature touch by touch’ in painting; nature that ‘only exists by the will of Idea’ 6.

Note 1: Courbet already exhibited his ‘Enterrement…’ at the Salon of 1850/51 and in 1855 alongside the Exposition Universelle he held a retrospective in his ‘Pavillon du Réalisme’. So, 1860 is a bit late to mention. Note: Mallarmé was born 1842 and probably didn’t attend the Pavillon du Réalisme.
Note 2: In fact Manet was more often accepted than rejected by the Salon jury; in 1873 he even had some success.
Note 3: Mallarmé jumps from Manet and the works in his studio, to the 1st and 2nd ‘impressionist’ exposition of 1874 (not at the Durand-Ruel gallery) and 1876 (at the Durand-Ruel gallery), where the works of Manet were not present, because he chose to exhibited at the Salon.
Note 4: I refer to the numbers in the Catologue Raisonné of Rouart and Wildenstein (1975=R120=iR193)
Note 5: It seems that Mallarmé sees a development in the works of Manet, but he doesn’t make clear which development he discerns.
Note 6: This is a more symbolist point of view.
Note 7: Mallarmé miswrites Pissarro as Pizzaro, Morisot as Morizot and Cézanne as Césane.
Note 8: Mallarmé presents Manet as the initiator of painting en-plein-air, but in fact Manet was influenced by Monet in 1874 to do so; and probably earlier by Morisot.
Note 9: both forerunners of Symbolism.

 

Sources:
Main sources: R90I,p91-97;R2,p27-35.
Other sources: R2,p53-55;R3,p677;R5,p95;R31;R90I,p481;R141;R231.

See links for other general references (=R), internet sites (=iR) and musea (=M). For other additional references (=aR) see below. See links for practical hints and abbreviations and for the subscription of the paintings.

 

Further readings:
WikiPedia (iR3); WikiQuote (iR507); WikiMedia (iR6; portraits iR6).

 

Recommanded citation: “Impressionism, according to Stéphane Mallarmé. Last modified 2026/01/27. https://www.impressionism.nl/impressionism-according-to-mallarme/”