Edouard Manet, Boy With Cherries

Edouard Manet, Boy With Cherries

This is a rare moment of pure joy captured forever on canvas. Cherries might not be a topic that excites us these days, but 19th-century France was a different time and place.

Edouard Manet's young assistant and subject model, Alexandre, enjoys the moment while posing for the painting now known as 'The Boy with Cherries'.

One of the benefits of working for an artist. When you have to model, you have to sit still for a very long time.

There is nothing else to do. Alexandre, by dressing for the role, appears to take his role as a model quite seriously.

Look at that happy smile and the hat worn at an angle. He is both working and having fun. What could be better than this?

The boy, Alexandre

What can we say about Alexandre from this painting? Even though it is a painting not a photo, clearly the shabby clothes indicate a low social status.

The boy appears fair and handsome. But behind the smile, there seems to be a hint of sadness if you look carefully.

The angle of the red cap could indicate a range of characteristics. A sign of selfishness? Or perhaps it signifies mischief. Is he naughty, playful, or mocking? Or is he putting on a cheerful face to hide his pain?

He was a young boy with a poor past who worked as an assistant in the art world, cleaning the brushes of a recognized painter. We know his face because he sat for paintings for his master.

According to a letter Manet wrote, he found the boy to be a versatile model. He mentioned being disturbed to find the boy prone to bouts of melancholy or depression. However, Manet had the greatest shock when he found the boy hanged in his studio.

Manet painted this work in oil on a canvas. Deeply shaken by Alexandre's death, he completed the painting after the boy's suicide. Thus, Alexandre smiles at the world forever, for future generations to see. This is thanks to Manet's painting skills.

This artist walked between the schools of realism and impressionism. In this painting, he walks the line between portrait and still life, between the portrait of Alexandre and the still life study of cherries. Poor, tragic Alexandre has found a sort of immortality in the work of his famous master.