La Parisienne: Study of Ellen Andrée

A tall black hat, a pale face and a narrow white neck edge rise above a dress that spreads almost across the canvas. Light gloves interrupt the dark outline on either side. In La Parisienne, Édouard Manet gives fashionable clothing a commanding presence while leaving the setting almost empty. The painting, also known as The Parisian, belongs to Nationalmuseum in Stockholm.^[1]

A Full-Length Figure in Black

The woman stands with her head upright and her shoulders nearly square to the viewer. Her arms descend beside the fitted bodice, leaving small pale spaces between the waist and sleeves. The skirt broadens below the hips and extends outwards along the floor. This progression makes the figure narrow near the centre and expansive at the bottom, with the hat adding height above the face.

Black clothing occupies most of the painted body, but its surface contains many different degrees of light. Blue-grey strokes cross the bodice and run through the folds of the skirt. Some are short and closely spaced, while others travel further across a turning surface. Their changing directions help distinguish the front of the dress from the material gathered at the side.

The light accents are much smaller. A white frill rises around the neck, separating the face from the dark collar. A pendant hangs below it. The gloves make two pale, irregular shapes near the hips, with one hand beside a dark accessory and a hanging light loop. Each of these details becomes visible partly because so much of the surrounding clothing is dark.

The face occupies a small area within this arrangement. The hat projects beyond it, while the white neck edge frames it from below. Manet gives the features more concentrated definition than much of the background, allowing the viewer to recognise a person while following the larger silhouette of her clothes.

Ellen Andrée and the Parisienne Role

The model is Ellen Andrée, an actress who posed for Manet. Denis Rouart and Daniel Wildenstein’s catalogue identifies her through an entry in Suzanne Manet’s account book concerning the painting’s sale in 1898.^[2] The name therefore has documentary support beyond the general title. The canvas is associated with a particular model even though its title presents a broader kind of figure.

Nationalmuseum interprets the work primarily as an image of a modern Parisian woman, with dress and appearance taking an important place in the city’s consumer culture.^[1] The title La Parisienne directs attention towards that public role. It invites the viewer to consider the whole presentation, from hat to hem, alongside the individual face.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art included this painting in its 2013 exhibition Impressionism, Fashion, and Modernity. Its discussion of the black dress places Ellen’s appearance among images in which dark fashionable clothing conveyed elegance.^[3] Manet’s Lady with Fans, showing Nina de Callias in a different setting, also featured in that discussion.

Here, the clothes give the viewer a great deal to examine. The waist, sleeves, high neck and gathered skirt establish a carefully organised outline. Yet the surroundings supply few clues about an occasion. We cannot see a room prepared for visitors, a street she is crossing or another person whom she might address. The figure is available for close looking without being attached to a detailed sequence of events.

A Grey Setting and a Dark Hem

The background varies across the canvas rather than forming a single flat grey. Lighter passages gather beside parts of the arms and skirt, while darker areas appear towards the upper right. Broad, visible marks run through this surrounding field. They provide enough variation to keep it active without identifying a particular wall or furnishing.

At the bottom, the hem meets a strip of ground. A dark shape extends to the left, while the dress’s broad right edge curves down towards the same level. These low, spreading forms make the figure feel planted on the surface beneath her. They also give the composition a strong horizontal ending after the long vertical movement from hat to skirt.

The difference between the plain surroundings and the detailed clothing sharpens the silhouette. The small openings beside the waist are especially effective: they let the background enter between arm and body, making the fitted middle clear. Looking from these spaces towards the hem reveals how far the dress expands.

Why the Date Is Disputed

Rouart and Wildenstein date the painting to 1875. They explain that their date follows an annotation by Léon Koëlla on a photograph taken by the photographer Lochard.^[2] The Met’s 2013 exhibition likewise used an approximate date of 1875.^[3]

Nationalmuseum’s current collection record, however, lists 1883.^[1] It does not explain the difference from the earlier dating. These records should therefore be kept distinct: 1875 has a published catalogue argument behind it, while 1883 is the date currently supplied by the owning museum. The disagreement does not establish that Manet began the canvas in one year and completed or revised it in the other.

Renoir’s Blue Parisienne

Pierre-Auguste Renoir painted another La Parisienne in 1874. Now in Amgueddfa Cymru–Museum Wales, it shows the actress Henriette Henriot in a blue dress. It was exhibited at the first Impressionist exhibition that year.^[4] This is a different model and painting from Manet’s Stockholm canvas, despite the shared title.

Renoir turns the body more noticeably and brings the hands together near the waist. The blue skirt gathers into large folds, with a prominent mass at the back. Pale collar and cuff accents appear within the stronger colour. Compared with Manet’s lowered arms and more frontal arrangement, the joined hands make a compact centre of activity.

The two pictures also use their surrounding space differently. Manet’s figure extends broadly across the lower edge, while Renoir leaves more room around the dress. Both, however, give relatively little information about a setting. The eye can stay with the clothing’s outline, the position of the hands and the small area occupied by the face.

Museum Wales curator Anne Pritchard connects Renoir’s relatively empty background and turned pose with the presentation of fashion plates. She also distinguishes the known model from the more general Parisian type suggested by the title.^[5] That distinction offers a useful way of looking at Manet’s painting too. Ellen remains identifiable, while the tall canvas presents a complete fashionable appearance. In each work, the balance between a particular face and an extensive costume leaves room for both portraiture and a broader image of modern dress.

From Suzanne Manet to Stockholm

The catalogue raisonné records Suzanne Manet selling La Parisienne to Paechter in Berlin on 13 June 1898. The painting subsequently belonged to Linde in Lübeck and Marczell de Nemes before reaching Stockholm in 1917.^[2]

Nationalmuseum records its acquisition as a gift from a consortium comprising S. Hult, Kristoffer Hult, Ernest Thiel, Arthur Thiel and Casper Tamm.^[1] Its substantial size gives the fashionable figure an imposing presence in the collection.