Homage to Manet - William Orpen
Archival giclée
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Description
A group portrait by William Orpen depicting prominent figures of the London art world gathered beneath Édouard Manet’s painting, Eva Gonzalès.
William Orpen painted Homage to Manet in 1909, capturing a specific social and intellectual circle within the London art scene. The composition centres on a group of men gathered around a table, engaged in conversation. The figures include George Moore, P. Wilson Steer, Walter Sickert, Henry Tonks, and D.S. MacColl. Orpen himself is visible in the background, observing the scene. The setting is a room in the home of Hugh Lane, a prominent art collector. The painting is dominated by the presence of Édouard Manet’s work, Eva Gonzalès, which hangs prominently on the wall above the group. This inclusion serves as a direct reference to the French Impressionist tradition, which Orpen and his contemporaries admired. The lighting is soft, reflecting the domestic interior, while the brushwork remains controlled and precise, characteristic of Orpen’s academic training at the Slade School of Fine Art. Orpen uses a muted palette of greys, browns, and whites, allowing the gilded frame of the Manet painting to draw the eye. The arrangement of the figures creates a sense of casual intimacy, yet the work functions as a formal group portrait. It documents the aesthetic preferences and professional associations of the period, showing how these artists positioned themselves in relation to European modernism. The inclusion of the classical bust on the left adds a layer of historical weight to the contemporary scene. This work remains a significant example of early twentieth-century British portraiture, demonstrating Orpen’s technical skill in handling light, texture, and human interaction within a confined space.
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Because every print is made to order, we don't offer change-of-mind returns, refunds or exchanges. If your order arrives faulty, damaged or incorrect, we'll replace it free of charge — just contact us within 48 hours of delivery. See our refunds page for full details.
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Manufacturing
Each print is produced to order using 12-colour giclée printing on FSC-certified archival paper. Designed in Britain and printed at your nearest production hub to reduce waste and speed up delivery.
Homage to Manet - William Orpen
Our Features
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Specific Features
Every Solis piece is made to order with archival, gallery-quality materials built to last.
- Museum-grade giclée printing for rich, fade-resistant colour
- Archival matte fine-art paper, FSC-certified
- Multiple sizes and framing options available
- Frames in black, natural wood, dark wood or white
- Framed prints arrive ready to hang
Care & Cleaning
To keep your artwork looking its best:
- Dust gently with a soft, dry cloth
- Avoid prolonged direct sunlight
- Never use liquid cleaners on the print or canvas surface
- Keep in a dry, room-temperature space
- Handle prints with clean, dry hands
Materials & Sizing
Museum-grade giclée on FSC-certified archival matte paper, with framed and canvas options.
- Paper sizes: A4, A3, A2, A1, A0 and B2 (50×70 cm)
- Canvas: XS (20×30 cm) to Large (60×90 cm)
- Frames: black, natural wood, dark wood or white
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Artist Biography
William Orpen
During the First World War he was sent to the Western Front as an official war artist for the British government. He was the most prolific of the war artists, producing 138 works: drawings and paintings of soldiers, dead men, German prisoners, ruined trenches, and the blank exhaustion that photographs of the period cannot quite capture. He donated all 138 to the British government. They are now in the Imperial War Museum.
After the war he painted The Signing of the Peace Treaty at Versailles, which should have been the capstone of his career. Instead it became a controversy. He also painted To the Unknown British Soldier in France, a composition that originally included ghostly military figures alongside a flag-draped coffin. The Imperial War Museum refused to accept it until he removed the figures in 1927.
He never fully recovered from the physical and mental effects of the war. He continued to paint society portraits at extraordinary prices (over 50,000 pounds a year by 1929), but those who knew him said something had changed.
He was Irish, from Stillorgan in County Dublin, a fact that became complicated as the independence movement gathered force during and after the war. He accepted a knighthood from the British crown. He died in 1931, aged fifty-two, and faded to near-total obscurity until 2001, when a portrait sold at Sotheby's for nearly two million pounds.
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