Musée d’Orsay · 1867
Suzanne Manet Playing the Piano
Édouard Manet
Manet painted his wife Suzanne, a skilled pianist who had once been his own piano teacher, seated at the keyboard in quiet profile — reportedly painted partly in reaction to a version by his friend Edgar Degas that Manet disliked so much he cut part of the canvas away.
Why it matters
Manet painted his wife Suzanne, a skilled pianist who had once been his own piano teacher, seated at the keyboard in quiet profile — reportedly painted partly in reaction to a version by his friend Edgar Degas that Manet disliked so much he cut part of the canvas away.
Look closer
Notice the calm, uncluttered composition — Manet strips away distraction to focus entirely on Suzanne's concentration at the keys.
The Degas version Manet mutilated survives today only as a fragment, in a different museum — making this Manet's own, more flattering answer to it.
Value context
ELYIO places this work in an indicative editorial context of €6–11 million.
The museum work is not for sale. This is ELYIO indicative context—not an appraisal, insurance value or offer.