At the Milliner's by Manet in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, December 2023

Title: At the Milliner's

Artist: Edouard Manet (French, Paris 1832–1883 Paris)

Date: 1881

Geography: Country of Origin France

Culture: French

Medium: Oil on canvas

Dimensions: 33 1/2 × 29 in. (85.1 × 73.7 cm)
Framed: 44 1/8 × 40 1/8 × 4 1/2 in. (112.1 × 101.9 × 11.4 cm)

Classification: Paintings

Credit Line: Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, museum purchase, Mildred Anna Williams Collection (1957.3)


An interest in women’s fashion and accessories, including millinery, pervaded Manet’s work. The subject of this painting has been disputed. The woman’s handling of the hat and the presence of hatstands at left imply that the figure may be a milliner, or possibly a customer, in a shop, although her provocatively slung shawl and bare shoulder perhaps point to a more intimate setting, such as a dressing area at home. The sparse brushwork in the bottom half of the woman’s dress may indicate that the work is unfinished.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/844743