In search of Victorine Meurent
Victorine Meurent was a fixture in the late 1800’s Impressionist-era Paris art scene. An accomplished artist – she had paintings accepted at the prestigious Paris Salon – she also modeled for other painters of the day. Most notably, she crops up in many of Édouard Manet’s famous paintings: Olympia, Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe, The Railway – the list goes on and on. There’s even a painting of Victorine dressed as a Matador.
In all of Manet’s paintings Victorine looks slightly different. Manet had a way of caricature-izing her features and I took to musing about what she actually looked like. I began a study from period photos and ran into trouble because the harsh contrast on period B&W photos makes for poor references – she looked different in every photo! I could not fully reconcile the photos with any of Manet’s paintings – and referring to paintings of Victorine by other artists of the time just threw me into total confusion. Then I found Meurent’s own self portrait: this was a big help and I’m quite pleased with the result – whether it looks like her or not!
We are never the same approaching new artwork: variation, searching, playing and changing moods are all part of evolving as an artist. Rarely do I work from period photos and paintings and this study was an opportunity to actively mix it up, and try something different. There are worlds of ways to try something new. Every time a new work beckons, it’s an opportunity!
“Every new painting is like throwing myself into the water without knowing how to swim.” Édouard Manet
Summer Plein-air
We are looking forward to arranging some plein-air sessions in July and August. We have a list of interested painters from last year, plus recent class lists and should you like to be added to the email list for weekly details, just send us an email david@davidkearn.com
Fall Courses
The Ottawa School of Art will be opening registration for the fall term in just a few days. Our courses will be commencing early November this year, following some commitments earlier in the fall. We are looking forward to a range of short courses – online and downtown – as well as three weekend workshops at the Shenkman:
Weekend Workshops at the Shenkman Centre in Orleans:
- To Brush or not to Brush? – Exploring painting techniques – 7 & 8 November, 9:30am – 4:30pm
- The Life in Your Portraits – Emotion through Technique – 21 & 22 November, 9:30am – 4:30pm
- The Voice of Colour – 5 & 6 December, 9:30am – 4:30pm
5-week on-line courses:
- Expressive Painting Your Way… any media! – 3 November – 1 December, 9-11:30am Eastern Time
- Expressive Portraits in Watercolour – 3 November – 1 December, 1-3:30pm Eastern Time
5-week downtown courses:
- Paint in Acrylic and Oil – 4 November – 2 December, 9.30am -12.30pm
- Expressive Portraits – 4 November – 2 December, 1:00 pm – 04:00 pm
Details plus direct links to each of the the Course Registration pages (when available) are on our website at: https://www.davidkearn.com/workshops/
And in the wide world of art:
David Hockney, revolutionary British artist, dies, aged 88: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2026/jun/12/artist-david-hockney-dies
Summer exhibitions at the National Gallery: https://www.gallery.ca/whats-on/exhibitions-and-galleries
Paris Drug Bust Recovers Stolen $17 M. Picasso Canvas: https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/paris-drug-bust-recovers-stolen-picasso-1234790016/
‘America’s Mona Lisa’: how chance, genius and cheap paint made Whistler’s Mother a masterpiece: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2026/may/19/americas-mona-lisa-whistlers-mother
Break-a-Brush!
David & France