huile sur toile

Manon Lescaut "On the ship which carries her towards the land of exile", oil on canvas signed lower right A. Matignon (1860-1937)

Frame 62 x 85 cm
Overall 44 x 74 cm
This novel is entitled L’histoire du chevalier des Grieux and Manon Lescaut. It is divided into two parts which take place over a two-year interval, but the first and second parts are naturally linked.
First part
The author of the name of Renoncour returns from Rouen, and finds the city in a singular turmoil. Outside a nightclub, he finds a convoy of prostitutes about to embark for America. One of them, stunningly beautiful, Manon, intrigues it. While inquiring about her, he comes across a young man who reveals to him his passion for the young girl, and has followed the convoy from Paris. Renoncour then pays the guards so that this young man talks with young Manon.

Two years later, Renoncour is in Calais, and meets the same young man by happy coincidence. He informs her that he is back from America, and is willing to tell her about his tumultuous love story with Manon Lescaut.
This story begins in 1717, the young man named Des Grieux was then 17 years old. His father wants to make him a member of the Order of Malta as he finishes his studies in philosophy. It is then that he falls in love with a young girl whom her parents want to send to a convent. Despite warnings and recriminations from his best friend Tiberge, Des Grieux felt more and more drawn to this young woman. So he plans to live with her, especially since his feelings seem to be mixed. The young man convinces her to flee with him to Paris. So they start their first getaway, have a good time, but Manon does not want to get married, attracted above all by luxury and pleasures. Moreover, Manon begins to cheat on Des Grieux with a rich farmer, M. de B ... The latter warns the young man's father who has him kidnapped and kidnapped, separating him from Manon. He entered the Amiens seminary to finish his studies, but once again met young Manon in Saint-Sulpice. Faced with his repentance, the young man leaves everything behind and fled again with her to the village of Chaillot.

Later, Manon convinces Des Grieux to rent an apartment in Paris. The young girl's brother, a notorious crook and gamer, takes hold of the couple, and very quickly leads them to ruin. Fearing that Manon would leave him, des Grieux, on the advice of Lescaut, Manon’s brother, also becomes a cheater and earns a lot of money. But the couple are robbed by their servants and find themselves on the street. Manon therefore begins to prostitute herself in order to earn money, which her lover reluctantly accepts. She manages to seduce, then steal a certain M. de G… M…, and runs away with her brother Lescaut and her lover. But the latter manages to find them and arrest them. Des Grieux is transferred to Saint-Nazaire prison, Manon to a lunatic asylum.

Des Grieux learns the news, and once again enlists the help of his friend Tiberge. The latter, unwittingly give him the weapon and the opportunity to leave the prison, killing at passing a gatekeeper. Then, he manages to get into the hospital where the woman he loves is locked up, and has her released along with her brother. But the latter is shot during the flight. The lovers therefore hide in the countryside in Chaillot, waiting for things to calm down. The young man even plans to resume his studies, but definitely cuts ties with his father.
Second part
Once in Chaillot, trouble begins again when a certain son of Mr. G..T .. falls in love with Manon. She decides to follow him, angering Des Grieux. He has the young man kidnapped, reconciles with Manon, but is surprised in the bed of the unfortunate kidnapped by the latter's father. Des Grieux was arrested again, then released thanks to his father who succeeded in obtaining a deportation of Manon in Louisiana.

Desperate, unable to get her released again, the young man follows her to Louisiana by embarking as a volunteer. This is thanks to the donation and the generosity of Renoncour, mentioned in the first part, he managed to board a boat Women for America. Once in America, they settled in a cabin and live quiet ... until the nephew of the governor of New Orleans falls in love with the girl. He puts pressure on his uncle who forces her to marry him. Des Grieux challenges him to a duel, injures him. Convinced of having killed her and fearing reprisals, he flees with his lover.

But life is hard for fugitives. Manon doesn't cope with these conditions, and one day while crossing a desert area, she dies from exhaustion and dehydration. Des Grieux feels guilty for this death. He digs a grave with his own hands, buries the girl, and