The Old Musician

Manet gave poor and displaced city dwellers the scale associated with major historical subjects. Paris's reconstruction changed neighborhoods and uprooted some inhabitants. The musician looks directly outward while the figures remain loosely connected. The painting brings people pushed to the margins into a large-scale work.

The older musician sits holding a violin and looks outward. His frontal position makes him the principal figure in the loosely connected group.

Two children stand together. Their proximity forms a distinct pair within the gathering of different ages.

A young woman carries a baby. At the group's edge, she remains occupied with her own activity.

A man in a tall hat stands apart. Intervals between figures prevent the group from reading as a close family gathering.

A pale bag with a brown strap lies at the musician's feet. Few belongings accompany people shown outside a settled domestic space.

The museum connects these people's situation with the rebuilding of Paris from the 1850s. Their enlarged scale makes socially overlooked inhabitants visible to an exhibition audience. The painting appeared a year before the scandal surrounding Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe.