The Duel of the Corkscrews: When Manet Drew His Sword
- Art d'Histoire
- Jan 27
- 3 min read
On the misty morning of February 23, 1870, a carriage arrived at the forest of Saint-Germain, carrying a nervous party of men. Among them was the painter Édouard Manet, accompanied by his faithful supporters Émile Zola and Henri Vigneau, and the art critic Edmond Duranty, seconded by his own witnesses. They were not there for a leisurely picnic, but to settle a matter of honour with steel. In the 19th century, "civilised men" were accustomed to settling their differences in the thickets, and on this day, the pen and brush had been definitively exchanged for the sword.
The Slap at Café Guerbois
The hostilities began not on the dueling ground, but in the pages of a newspaper. On February 19, Duranty had published a review of an exhibition at the Cercle de l'Union Artistique, a venue also known as "Les Mirlitons." Manet was displaying his Philosopher and a watercolour of Christ with the Angels. The critic was scathing, dismissing the exhibition as boring and lacking in ambition. He specifically mocked Manet's philosopher, claiming the figure was merely "trampling oyster shells underfoot."
The reaction of the susceptible artist was swift and visceral. The very day after the article appeared, Manet tracked Duranty down at their regular haunt, the Café Guerbois. Without hesitation, he marched up to the critic and slapped him across the face. Such a public insult left no room for negotiation; the seconds were dispatched, and the sword duel was set.
A Single, Violent Engagement
The duel itself was described by Zola and Alexis. At eleven o'clock, the two men faced each other. Manet and Duranty threw themselves at one another with such ferocity that, when they were finally separated, their swords had been twisted into shapes resembling "a pair of corkscrews."
The violence ended only when Manet's blade slipped on a rib and inflicted a slight wound above Duranty's right breast. Upon seeing the blood, the witnesses immediately intervened, declaring that honour had been satisfied and that there was no need to continue the fight. It was a close call that could have ended in tragedy, a stark contrast to the duel of the critic Sainte-Beuve, who famously fought with a pistol in one hand and an umbrella in the other because he was willing to die but not to get wet.
The Shoes of Reconciliation
Despite the bloodshed, the aftermath of the duel reveals the absurd comedy often underlying these deadly rituals. Manet later recalled the event with a touch of humour, noting that he had spent the previous day searching for a pair of good shoes to ensure good footing during the fight. In a gesture of supreme awkwardness, he tried to gift these shoes to Duranty after the duel, only to find they were too small for the critic's feet.
The animosity evaporated as quickly as it had arisen. That very evening, the regulars at the Café Guerbois celebrated the survival of both men by singing a refrain: "Manet-Duranty are two guys who make an admirable pair." The two resumed their friendship, with Duranty later writing to Manet to praise his "wonderful personal qualities" and generosity. Ironically, this was not the first time Duranty had fought for Manet's art; years earlier, in 1865, he had beaten a man "to a pulp" for spitting on Manet's Olympia, proving that their bond was stronger than a single review about oyster shells.
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