The National Gallery in London Acquires First Painting by Impressionist Eva Gonzalès

The rich collection of the National Gallery in London encompasses the works of around 750 artists, with only 20 of them being women. This makes the museum’s acquisition of the painting “Psyché” (La Psyché) by French Impressionist and student of Édouard Manet, Eva Gonzalès, a significant event.

Gonzalès was born in Paris in 1849 to a bourgeois family and began to develop her artistic talent at the age of 16 under the tutelage of painter Charles Joshua Chaplin. Only three years later, she would meet Manet and become initially his model (you may have seen her portrait by the master, also housed in the National Gallery in London), and later his student. Within a year of their acquaintance, Manet recognized the young woman’s talent and assisted in exhibiting her work “Child with a Pipe” at the Paris Salon in 1870.

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Naturally, Gonzalès’s close collaboration with Manet influenced her reputation, with her works being criticized for their apparent similarity to the artist’s style. However, experts today are convinced that she was a unique creative force in her own right, even before entering Manet’s studio. Tragically, Gonzalès’s life was cut short at the age of 34 due to complications during childbirth, and for many years her works were forgotten amidst the greater attention given to male artists.

The painting “Psyché” was created around 1870 and depicts a woman looking into a mirror. The National Gallery in London acquired it from an anonymous British collection, where the canvas had been since 1952, purchased for a mere 200 pounds sterling. “Psyché” is the second work by Gonzalès to enter a public collection in the UK, with another of her paintings, “The Donkey Ride,” being housed in the Bristol Museum.

Cover photo: ‘La Psyché’ by Eva Gonzalès (1869-1870) / © The National Gallery London

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