Edouard Manet (1832-1883)
TRADITIONALLY UNTRADITIONAL
Edouard Manet was born in Paris into a privileged family. His father was a judge and hoped his son would pursue a career in law; however, Manet was more interested in art than academics. As a young man, he traveled throughout Europe to study the masters and was particularly influenced by Goya and Velázquez.
It was never Manet’s intention to spark controversy with his art—he was a refined man who deeply desired acceptance into the mainstream art world; however, he also had very distinct artistic philosophies. For one, he believed in art’s intrinsic nature and that aesthetic value was more important than content. He also believed that “one must...create what one sees,” and thus painted scenes inspired by the cafés, bars, and theaters of Paris, particularly in bourgeois social circles. And his technique, composed of loose, unfinished brushstrokes and flat compositions, ignited the sparks of Impressionism, although he never associated himself with the movement nor did he exhibit with any of the Impressionists.
But it was ultimately the convergence of his ideas and methods on canvas in Luncheon on the Grass that set off a firestorm of criticism. The critics felt that his image of a classical female nude seated beside two clothed gentlemen in a modern setting was vulgar and offensive. And the painting firmly established Manet as a member of the Avant-Garde, much to his annoyance. Although Manet resisted his role as innovator, his work opened doors for an entirely new generation of artists. —RJR
Notable works: Luncheon on the Grass, 1863; Olympia, 1865; A Bar at the Folies-Bergère, 1882 (page 272).
FUN FACT
Edouard Manet was a generous man who often helped friends in need. A letter from Claude Monet to Manet in 1879 reveals the artist’s benevolent spirit: “I often think...of how much I owe you, and it is really most kind not to have asked for that money back, which you must badly need... .”