1878

Knife Grinder, Rue Mosnier

French, 1832 - 1883

Manet painted this quickly brushed picture of a French knife grinder while in his studio overlooking the Rue Mosnier, now the Rue de Berne, in Paris. The artist frequently depicted the myriad passersby he could see on the street below. The composition of this work is notable: there are vivid horizontals on the street and sidewalk, diagonals that frame the sidewalk and fade to a vanishing point, and a balancing vertical in the street lamp.