Skating

Although he never exhibited with the impressionists, Manet had a formative influence on the group. He shared their commitment to depicting modern pastimes, as in this scene of a popular roller skating rink. The sport had exploded as a fashionable French pursuit in the 1870s, with five lavish rinks opening in Paris over a two-year period. The main figure here wears a chic outfit, which is displayed at its most alluring angle, accentuating its wearer’s curves. The dress contrasts starkly with the more typical all-black day dresses of the women in the middle ground. As he worked on this composition, Manet made the young child in the foreground increasingly indistinct, focusing the viewer’s attention almost exclusively on her stylish and attractive mother. The model for this figure, Henriette Hauser, was the mistress of the Prince of Orange and an aspiring actress. Manet painted her several times.