 |
Suzanne ManetPianist, wife and model of the artist Edouard Manet.
Date of Birth: 30.10.1829
Country:  France |
Content:
Suzanne Manet Biography
Suzanne Manet was a pianist, wife, and model of the artist Edouard Manet. She was born as Suzanne Leenhoff and her family moved to Zaltbommel when she was a child. Her father served as a musician in the church. According to the notes of A. van Anroy, in the summer of 1845, Franz Liszt visited the Leenhoff's home on his way from Bonn to London and heard Suzanne's father playing the carillon. Liszt was so impressed by Suzanne's piano playing that he advised her to continue her musical education in Paris. According to Anroy, he recommended a teacher for her and found students for her so that Suzanne could earn a living. Among Suzanne's students from 1849 were Eugene Manet (1833-1892) and Gustave Manet (1835-1884) - younger brothers of Edouard Manet.
On January 19, 1852, Suzanne gave birth to her son Leon Leenhoff. Suzanne recorded the child's father as a certain Coele, about whom nothing else is known. Edouard Manet became the child's godfather. Many authors have speculated that the child's father was actually Edouard Manet. New research suggests that Auguste Manet, father of Edouard Manet, was the child's father. Suzanne and Leon lived together with Suzanne's brothers - the sculptor Ferdinand Leenhoff and the artist Rudolf Leenhoff - and Suzanne's grandmother. Her sister Matilda, who was married to the sculptor Joseph Mezzara, also lived nearby.
The exact timing of the relationship between Edouard Manet and Suzanne Leenhoff, which Manet concealed for years, remains unknown. He married Suzanne on October 28, 1863, a year after the death of his father. Charles Baudelaire, surprised by the news, wrote to a friend in October 1863: "Manet just shared an amazing piece of news with me. Tonight, he is going to Holland to return with his wife... according to reports, she is beautiful, very amiable, and a wonderful pianist."
Suzanne Manet's Life
Suzanne Manet lived together with Edouard Manet, his mother, and her son Leon under one roof. However, Leon was presented to the artist's family and Parisian society as Suzanne's younger brother. She hosted weekly salons and was a remarkable pianist. Her favorite composers were Robert Schumann, Beethoven, and Richard Wagner. After Edouard Manet's death in 1883, Suzanne lived in the home of her cousin, Jules de Jouy, in Gennevilliers, then in Asnières, and finally with her son on 94 Rue de Saint-Dominique in Paris. Due to financial difficulties, she gradually sold her husband's paintings. In order to have something to remember him by, she ordered copies of some of his works, which later appeared on the market as originals after her death.
