Portrait of Emile Zola

Manet painted this portrait of Emile Zola in 1868, after the writer had defended him in print against the hostile critics who had attacked his Olympia at the 1865 Salon. Zola was 28, a journalist and critic, and Manet offered to paint his portrait as a thank you. Zola sits at his desk in Manet's studio, his body turned to the right, his chin resting on his hand. He is dressed in black. Behind him, a Japanese screen fills the upper left of the canvas. On the wall hang three pictures: a print of Velazquez's Bacchus, a reproduction of Manet's Olympia, and a Japanese print by Utamaro. On the desk are books, an inkwell, and a quill pen. The canvas is large, roughly 58 by 45 inches, portrait format. The colors are dark: browns, blacks, and the yellow of the Japanese screen. Manet submitted this portrait to the Salon of 1868, where it was accepted and hung. The critics were polite. The painting reads as a statement of alliance: Zola and Manet, the writer and the painter, united against the academic establishment. The objects on the wall and desk are carefully chosen: Olympia, which Zola had defended; Velazquez, whom Manet admired; and the Japanese print, which both men saw as the key to a new kind of seeing. French painting in 1868 was in the middle of a decade of change. Manet was 36 and had been exhibiting at the Salon for six years, drawing controversy each time. Zola was writing the essays that would make his reputation as the leading critic of the new painting. The portrait was the beginning of a friendship that would last until Manet's death in 1883. Oil on canvas, 146.5 by 114 centimeters. Manet painted with a dark, controlled palette, building the figure in solid strokes of black and brown. The Japanese screen is painted in flat patterns of yellow and gold, very different from the modeling of the figure. The three pictures on the wall are rendered as small, precise rectangles. This painting works in a study, library, or office. The dark palette and intellectual subject suit a room with wood paneling, leather chairs, or warm lighting. The 16x20 framed version in a black frame is the most versatile size. The painting is in the Musee d'Orsay, Paris. This is a public domain artwork, sourced from Wikimedia Commons. We print it on archival matte paper at sizes from 8x10 to 24x36 inches, framed or unframed. The image is printed at full resolution with no cropping.