 When visiting Delacroix's studio in 1856 Manet got a piece of advice from him and it was; 'emulate Rubens, copy Rubens.' This is the one painting by Manet that does this. It is a composite image, crowded, eventful, diffuse, a mixture of genres, pleasures, pastimes, mixed with the natural phenomenon of a rainbow. This collection of episodes, the dispersal of interest, the uncertainty of narrative function are all reflected in the painting's genesis. It is very much a made-up prefabricated image from disparate sources. Rubens figures prominently in all this. Manet used figures and scenes from several works by Rubens and Carracci. He combined these to
come up with this painting.
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