Manet and Astruc

In 1908, the Kunsthalle Bremen became one of the first museums in Germany to acquire a major painting by Édourad Manet (1832–1883): the Portrait of Zacharie Astruch of 1866. The work not only presents a likeness of Manet’s friend, the critic, writer and artist Zacharie Astruc but also their shared tastes and passions represented through the objects assembled in the painting. In addition to the writer Astruc’s quills and books, we find an album of Japanese woodcuts, pointing to the contemporary enthusiasm for Japanese art. The red sash is a discrete sign of Astruc’s love for Spain and Spanish painting, and the string instrument in the background identifies him as a composer and musician.