Young Flautist, Edouard manet

Young Flautist, Edouard manet

Manet painted The Fifer after a trip in Spain that he made in 1865, where he discovered the work of Diego Velázquez. The painting, in which Manet reflected the influence of Spanish painting, was rejected by the jury of the Paris Salon in 1866. The painting was exhibited in 1867. In 1884, it was present at the major retrospective exhibition of his work organized as a tribute, after Manet’s death in 1883.
The rejection by the Salon jury prompted the writer Émile Zola to publish a series of articles in defense of Manet in the newspaper L’Événement.
Between 1873 and 1893, the painting was held by Jean-Baptiste Faure, French composer and baritone, friend of Manet. In 1893, it returned to the collection of Durand-Ruel, and was acquired the next year by Count Isaac de Camondo, remaining in his collection until 1911, then was delivered to the French state as a donation. The painting was intended for the Musée du Louvre, where it was not exhibited to the general public until 1914. In 1947, it was moving to the Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume, a showroom located in the Jardin des Tuileries and belonging to the Louvre. It remained there until 1986, when it was brought to the Musée d’Orsay, like the rest of the collection of Impressionist paintings in the Louvre. It can currently be seen in room 14 of level 0 of the Musée d’Orsay.