Édouard Manet

Édouard Manet brought modern Paris onto the canvas – and shocked the art world, without ever wanting to be an Impressionist himself.

Life

Born in 1832 into a wealthy Parisian family, he preferred painting to law and trained with Thomas Couture. In 1863 his “Luncheon on the Grass” caused a scandal at the “Salon des Refusés”, and in 1865 his “Olympia” did the same at the official Salon. Younger painters such as Monet and Renoir saw him as a model; Berthe Morisot became his sister-in-law. He never exhibited with the Impressionists, seeking recognition from the Salon instead. He died in Paris in 1883.

Style & technique

Manet painted flatly, with strong contrasts of light and dark and few half-tones, often with deep black. He drew on Velázquez, Goya and Titian but placed people of his own time in their compositions – flâneurs, barmaids, friends. His brushwork is visible and quick, his compositions sometimes deliberately puzzling.

Look closely

  • The black: for Manet it is a colour in its own right, and it glows.
  • The gazes: figures often look straight at us, unmoved.
  • The handling: clothing and still lifes emerge from a few broad strokes.

Timeline

  • 1832: Born in Paris.
  • 1863: “Luncheon on the Grass” at the Salon des Refusés.
  • 1865: “Olympia” at the Salon – another scandal.
  • 1882: “A Bar at the Folies-Bergère”.
  • 1883: Dies in Paris.

Works in the museum