Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Suzanne Manet" in English language version.
The respected art critic Waldemar Januszcak believed that not only was Auguste the real father of Leon, but was also the influence behind Manet's most iconic painting, Déjeuner sur L'Herbe. This was the painting that scandalized Paris in 1863: the brazen nude lolling outdoors in a park between two fully clothed gentlemen.
And might these two people be standing in for Leon's real parents -- Suzanne as the maid (as she was the piano teacher) and Manet's father as the man.
The next time Degas saw his picture, it had been mutilated, slashed right through the face of Suzanne Manet at the piano. She had been sitting in profile, and the cut went straight through her temple. Everything to the right of that had been destroyed. Degas was naturally furious, and if Manet offered any explanation, it has not been preserved.
It was Manet himself who wielded the penknife. Degas had given the double portrait to the couple, but at some point Manet could no longer bear what he called "a deformation" of Suzanne's features, and took the knife to the canvas. You can imagine the scene when Degas—a famously fractious figure—discovered the mutilation. He took the painting back and returned to Manet a still life that he had given him.
And might these two people be standing in for Leon's real parents -- Suzanne as the maid (as she was the piano teacher) and Manet's father as the man.
The respected art critic Waldemar Januszcak believed that not only was Auguste the real father of Leon, but was also the influence behind Manet's most iconic painting, Déjeuner sur L'Herbe. This was the painting that scandalized Paris in 1863: the brazen nude lolling outdoors in a park between two fully clothed gentlemen.
It was Manet himself who wielded the penknife. Degas had given the double portrait to the couple, but at some point Manet could no longer bear what he called "a deformation" of Suzanne's features, and took the knife to the canvas. You can imagine the scene when Degas—a famously fractious figure—discovered the mutilation. He took the painting back and returned to Manet a still life that he had given him.
