Manet preferred compositions with two figures as opposed to the straightforward portrait form because it opened up the possibility of interesting dialogue situations. The double portrait of Jules Guillemet and his wife, painted in the conservatory of the painter Johann Georges Otto Rosen, is one of the most important of these works because of the sensitivity with which it uses the most delicate nuances of colours and contrasts to describe and re-connect the psychologically tense, only outwardly detached, relationship of the two figures.
　The theme of the picture is the interplay between the elegant lady — the owner of a fashion shop in Paris — and the gentlemen turned in her direction. He seems rather small due to the way he is bending over and brushes against the upper edge of the picture, while the feminine beauty with the effortless noblesse of her extended posture occupies a large part of the picture space. Despite their being separated by the back of the seat — with its own graphic appeal by virtue of its transparency — the understated focal point of this rich conservatory scene with all its plant forms and subtle colours is the hands approaching each other.
　Manet’s paintings are fascinating for a variety of reasons: a palette of colours that is subtle yet not without the tension of contrast, plus subject matter that is free from literary or symbolic content. This is painting at its highest level, drawing on an uncommonly fertile imagination, on the constant awareness of visual phenomena, and on a gift for laconic observation that translates every sight into a subtly mediated experience for the eyes. Particularly in the compositions with two or more figures, there are also extremely skilfully dramatized scenes with psychologically intriguing configurations of actors or often of silent players, wordless and motionless like the different elements in a still life.

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　　《在温室里》（In the Conservatory）画的是位于巴黎的一间温室，这里当时是马奈的工作室。画面中手持雨伞的女子静坐于画室内的长椅上，一穿黑色西装的男人手夹雪茄半靠于椅背，与其交谈。背景的表现手法轻柔而概括，引人注目，装饰物、花盆中的花，赋予了女子的面貌以恬静似的神采。整个画面的色彩明亮醒目而又各得其所，使整体具有了一种特别的轻巧感和光彩。

　　《在温室里》是一副双肖像画，画中的男女衣着打扮时尚，社会地位很高，他们是马奈的朋友，这对夫妇拥有一家服装店。通过两个人手上的戒指可以看出，他们已经结婚了，两个人的手的接近是方式非常亲密。画中的女人成为是该画的焦点，但是，因为她衣服的颜色为平庸的、做旧的蓝灰色，使得周围五颜六色的环境更为显眼。丈夫朱尔斯则穿着黑色的衣服，倚在栏杆外的长凳上，显得很慵懒。两人的神态和衣服的色调处理，与观者缺乏互动，创造了分离的感觉。