MANZI Michel (EN)
Biographical Article
Michel Manzi, a multifaceted character with a diverse career (engineer, publisher, printer, dealer, writer, artist), was also a major collector and an important figure in the art world, who was recognised in several respects at the end of his life. Born on September 28, 1849 in Naples, he pursued a military career in Italy, at the Military College of Naples, the Military School of Turin from 1866, and finally, the War School of Turin from which he obtained the rank of second lieutenant of the general staff in 1869. He was then assigned to the Military Geographical Institute of Florence between 1870 and 1875 and participated in research aimed at facilitating topographic surveys of difficult terrain using photographic processes. From then on, Manzi developed a particular interest in printing and photomechanical reproduction techniques. He was appointed staff captain at the Turin School of War in 1878, and his knowledge of topographical techniques enabled him to publish a manual and teach topography and practical geometry there. In 1881, when he was named Knight of the Italian Crown, Manzi resigned from the Italian army after obtaining promising results in his research on processes of typogravure (a photomechanical process allowing print image and text simultaneously).
Manzi at Goupil & Cie
Maindron went to Paris and joined the publishing and printing house Goupil & Cie as an engineer, working on the implementation and application of photomechanical processes for publishing and reproduction. The company's founder, Adolphe Goupil (1806-1893), retired from business in 1884, and Manzi became the director of the firm's workshops, located in Asnières in the new company Boussod, Valadon & Cie (successors of Goupil & Cie). There he undertook major work to improve and develop reproduction and printing processes, which influenced the production of the Goupil house. These processes considerably enriched their publications of prints and photographs, and also of magazines, catalogues and illustrated books. These important advances earned him the title of Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur in 1900.
Michel Manzi became co-director of Goupil in 1897 within the company Jean Boussod, Manzi, Joyant & Cie (successors of Goupil & Cie) printing publishers, which became the company Manzi, Joyant & Cie in 1900, until its dissolution shortly after Manzi's death in 1917. New journals, particularly luxurious and artistic, were born under his editorial direction: Le Théâtre, Les Modes, Les Arts, Les Sports Modernes and L'Hygiène. The artistic orientations of the company evolved towards a diversification of publications, the promotion of less known contemporary artists, and the opening of an art gallery.
Manzi's Entourage
Through his professional activities, Manzi met and established true friendships with artists and personalities from the art world: the painters Edgar Degas (1834-1917) and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901), the sculptor Albert Batholomé ( 1848-1928), the critic and art historian Paul Lafond (1847-1918), and even Count Robert de Montesquiou (1855-1921), an art critic and man of letters. He also frequented various collectors, such as Roger Marx (1859-1913), Edmond de Goncourt (1822-1896), and Camille Groult (1832-1908). These different encounters, his sensitivity to art, his mastery of printing techniques, and the gradual acquisition of artistic knowledge were all elements that propelled him into an environment of artistic and intellectual emulation, and had a definite influence on the definition of his taste and the constitution of his collections.
Manzi and Japonisme
Michel Manzi also took part in the Japonisme movement that excited Parisian society starting in the middle of the 19th century. He was part of this new generation of enthusiasts, collectors, and dealers that emerged in the 1880s. This group was characterised by a heightened knowledge of Japanese art and centred around dealers Hayashi Tadamasa (1853-1906) and Samuel Bing (1838-1905). These dealers, whom Manzi frequented assiduously, gathered a veritable circle of amateurs and collectors of Japanese art, of which Manzi was a part, alongside Henri Vever (1854-1942), Louis Gonse (1846-1921), Charles Gillot (1853-1903), and Raymond Koechlin (1860-1931). The 1890s were marked by the proliferation of auctions of Japanese art works, as well as by the sale of major collections of early Japanese artists, such as that of Philippe Burty (1830-1890) in 1891 or Edmond de Goncourt in 1897. Manzi thus built up a large collection of Japanese prints, through the dealers Hayashi and Bing and exchanges between collectors taking place during the meetings of this small circle, as well as during the major Japanese art auctions at which Manzi was a major buyer at the end of the 19th century (Saint-Raymond L., 2016).
L’hôtel des modes
In 1907, Michel Manzi opened the Hôtel des Modes (also referred to as "Hôtel des arts", "Galerie Manzi et Joyant", or "Galerie Manzi") at 15 rue de la Ville l'Évêque, near la Madeleine. Combining his passions for the arts, fashion, and theatre, he bought an 18th century hôtel particulier and transformed it with the aim of hosting various events advertised in the magazines published by Manzi, Joyant & Cie: exhibitions, auctions, concerts, and conferences. Richly adorned and meticulously decorated, this space was initially devoted specifically to the readers of Modes, offering a hymn to the elegance of beauty and offering up for admiration "the arts and women";it gradually opened up to the fine arts and decorative arts, and hosted works from the Goupil house and the personal collections of Michel Manzi in diverse exhibitions.
On April 28, 1915, Manzi died in Boulouris, commune of Saint-Raphaël, entailing the gradual cessation of the activities of the Goupil house. His collections were dispersed at seven major auctions between 1919 and 1921.
The Collection
From his arrival in Paris in the 1880s until his death, Michel Manzi built up an important, rich, and diversified collection, including works by modern artists from the 19th and 20th centuries, sculptures, paintings, and earthenware from different eras and origins, Japanese prints and sword hilts and pottery from Japan.
Modern Art Collection
The modern collection was made up of paintings, pastels, drawings, watercolours, and bronzes by nearly 90 different artists. He brought together many works by his friend Degas, such as Le Violoncelliste Pillet (RF 2582), or Femme dans son bain s’épongeant la jambe (RF 4043) (oils on canvas now kept at the Musée d'Orsay), but also Chez la Modiste (141.1957), a pastel kept today at the MoMA, or La Classe de Danse (29.100.184), conserved at the Metropolitan Museum. Toulouse-Lautrec was also well-represented, by several studies and portraits of women, such as Le Coucher, as well as by some dance and opera scenes, such as the Danseuse ajustant son maillot. Several intimate family scenes and a few portraits by Eugène Carrière (1849-1906) were part of this collection, as well as animal and mythological bronzes by Antoine-Louis Barye (1795-1875) and Emmanuel Frémiet (1824-1910). Manzi, from Naples, also had various works by his Italian friends, including Antonio Mancini (1852-1930), Giovanni Boldini (1842-1931), Vicenzo Gemito (1852-1929), Federico Zandomeneghi (1841-1917), and Giuseppe De Nittis (1846-1884). The collection also includes two works by his friend Albert Bartholomé (1848-1928), including Le Masque de Tadamasa Hayashi, a bronze with a brown patina that establishes a link between Manzi's modern and Japanese collections. The collection also includes some works by Jean-Louis Forain (1852-1931), a friend of Degas, Bartholomé, and Manzi, with whom he shared an interest in dance and opera. We note the presence of some works by essential painters of the 19th century, including Camille Corot (1796-1875), Jean-François Millet (1814-1875), Auguste Renoir (1841-1919), Camille Pissarro (1830-1903), and Edouard Manet (1832-1883). Manzi also acquired the majestic and famous Orana Maria (51.112.2) by Gauguin, now at the Metropolitan Museum. Finally, we must mention the painter Jean-François Raffaëlli (1850-1924), with a Portrait de Rodin in watercolour and a cène de faubour enhanced with Indian ink and gouache, in addition to two small bronzes by Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) (L’homme au nez cassé and Femme accroupie), an artist whom Manzi frequented through the Goupil house. The collection also includes the famous Avenue de Clichy, cinq heure du soir (1966.7) by Louis Anquetin (1861-1932) kept at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art. Les soins maternels of Mary Cassatt (1844-1926), a watercolour, Au bord de l’eau, Berthe Morisot (1841-1895), Fleurs by Fantin-Latour (1836-1904), and also some landscapes by Alfred Stevens.
Collection of Japanese prints
Manzi was passionate about Japanese art and assembled a very rich collection of more than 2,500 ukiyo-e prints made by nearly 50 different artists. It includes a considerable collection of the art of Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858), particularly famous for his views of landscapes. The artist's most important series, such as Famous Views of the Sixty-Odd Provinces, the One Hundred Famous Views of Yédo, and the Fifty-Three Stations on the Tokaido are represented by high quality prints, alongside series of flowers, birds, and fish. Kitagawa Utamaro (c.1753-1806), particularly represented in Manzi's collection of Japanese prints, specialised in scenes of daily life, and more particularly the portraits of Yoshiwara courtesans, which he depicted with great elegance in high quality prints. The Manzi collection includes many courtesans and young women, some couples, some young men and genre scenes, as well as some landscapes, animals and flowers. The Manzi collection covers a wide panorama of the works of Katsushika Hokusai (c.1760-1846), of great stylistic variety and impressive aesthetic quality. We find for example theThirty-Six Views of Mount Fujiandthe series of Bridgesand Waterfalls. Manzi's Japanese collection also includes several prints from the Katsukawa school, represented by Katsukawa Shunshô (c.1726-1792) and his students, including Shunchô (active c.1778-1795), Shunei (c.1762-1819), and Shunkô (c.1743-1812), specialising in theatre scenes and portraits of actors; works by Suzuki Harunobu (c.1725-1770), best known for the technical innovations he brought to the art of printmaking, giving rise to polychrome printing; and also by Isoda Koryusai (active around 1760-1780), famous for prints of birds, flowers, and also of women and scenes of daily life, in orange hues. Finally, let us point out the large quantity of surimono, refined, luxurious prints of high quality printing assembled by Manzi. Some pieces from this collection were exhibited between 1909 and 1914 during the cycle of six exhibitions devoted to Japanese prints organised by the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, where Manzi was a lender, alongside many great collectors of Japanese art. In 1909, he also organised an exhibition of Japanese prints at the Hôtel des Modes.
Sabre Guard Collection
Manzi assembled a collection of sabre guards from various workshops, including inlay workshops including the Yoshiro in Yamashiro, the Fushimi, blacksmith workshops such as the Saotome and the Myochin, and also the workshops of Kaneiye, the Higo, the Umetada family, Kyoto, Yedo, and others. The collection also brings together several Japanese pottery tchaïré (tea pots), chawan (tea bowls), mizusachi (water pots), bottles, and cups. The Manzi collection also includes a set of nine antique carved wooden netsukés from Japan, and a set of nineteen small carved and lacquered wooden masks from Japan.
Collection of Ceramics and Earthenware
Manzi brought together a collection of French earthenware from Moustiers, Nevers, Rouen, and Sinceny, as well as from other regions, including Alcora, Anspach, and Delft, Hispano-Moorish, Italy, Caffagiolo, Deruta, Faenza, Gubbio, and Urbino; oriental earthenware from Persia, Damascus, Rhodes, and other various sources, as well as some Chinese porcelain, and several terracotta medallions by Jean-Baptiste Nini. This collection is very thorough and diverse. It includes plates, platters, vases, pitchers, jugs, bottles, goblets, inkstands, sugar bowls, cups, bowls, and trays, as well as wall plates, tiles, and rectangular panels. Oriental earthenware, particularly from Persia, occupies an important place, and includes many panels, plates, and covering tiles.
Sculptures, Paintings and Tapestries from the Middle Ages and Renaissance
Manzi also built a collection of sculptures, paintings, tapestries and various other objects from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The old paintings were grouped by school in the sales catalogue: German, Spanish, "school of northern Spain, German influence", school of Catalonia, school of Valencia, Florentine, Italian. To these were added many sculptures, which included capitals, bas-relief fragments, busts, groups, high-reliefs, statues, and statuettes, in sculpted stone or marble. Most of these sculptures are dated to the 15th or 16th century. Roi Clothar I (40.51.2) and Roi Clovis I (40.51.1), two gothic style pieces dated 1250, from the abbey of Monstiers-Saint-Jean, are among them. They are now at the Metropolitan Museum.
This collection also includes several "miscellaneous objects", including tiles, dishes, a fragment of ancient Egyptian sculpture, a bronze Christ, some ivories, diptychs, a group of sconces carved in bas-relief, and a rectangular plaque carved in bas-relief and a rectangular plate. There is also a large quantity of carved wood, including groups, statues, statuettes, panels, busts, friezes, bas-reliefs, high-reliefs, columns, a pilaster of furniture, a front of a chest, and part of an altarpiece. Finally, the collection includes a few pieces of furniture including several 15th century chests in carved wood and richly decorated with Gothic motifs, as well as several tapestries from different periods, ranging from the 16th to the 18th centuries.
Visibility of Collections
These different collections were gathered in the private apartments of Manzi in the rue Pigalle and exhibited in a harmonious whole, arranged according to visual constructions mixing styles and periods, forming a coherent entity. They were offered to certain amateurs chosen within the framework of visits organised by the collector. The collections of Michel Manzi were also evaluated in the publications of the Goupil house and on the occasion of exhibitions held at the Hôtel des Modes, before being dispersed shortly after the collector’s death in a succession of major auctions, following his wishes drawn up in his will of 1897.
