Édouard Manet

Paris

Manet came from the well-to-do Paris bourgeoisie and was a central figure of modern art.

💡 Did you know? His father wanted him to be a lawyer: instead Manet went to sea before becoming a painter.

pioneer of Impressionism

Manet is seen as the bridge between Realism and Impressionism, though he never took part in the Impressionist exhibitions.

💡 Did you know? The younger Impressionists revered him as a model, yet Manet preferred to seek the official recognition of the Salon.

Luncheon on the Grass and Olympia

„The Luncheon on the Grass“ and „Olympia“ showed nude women in a modern setting: a scandal that made Manet notorious.

💡 Did you know? They broke the conventions of the Salon and outraged the public.

modern Parisian life

Manet painted cafés, bars, railway stations and the fashionable life of Paris: motifs of his own present.

💡 Did you know? With this he broke the tradition of holding only historical or mythological subjects worthy of art.

recognition in the Salon

He never took part in the Impressionist exhibitions.

💡 Did you know? Despite all the scandals, Manet longed all his life for the official Salon; he was honoured only shortly before his death.

at 51 (1883)

Manet died in 1883 aged just 51 from an illness that finally cost him a leg.

💡 Did you know? Shortly before his death he was awarded the Legion of Honour; the late recognition he had craved.

Luncheon on the Grass

Around 1863: the nude woman beside clothed men was a scandal.

💡 Did you know? A nude woman picnics unabashed beside clothed gentlemen: in 1863 this deeply outraged Parisians.

Olympia

Painted around 1863.

💡 Did you know? The bold gaze of the nude „Olympia“ was thought so provocative that guards had to protect the picture from angry visitors.

A Bar at the Folies-Bergère

Around 1882: the puzzling mirror behind the barmaid.

💡 Did you know? Manet's last great work: the mirror behind the barmaid is „wrong,“ a puzzle still debated today.

The Balcony

Painted around 1868.

💡 Did you know? At far left sits the painter Berthe Morisot, Manet's muse and later sister-in-law.

Music in the Tuileries

Painted around 1862.

💡 Did you know? Manet painted himself and friends like Baudelaire into the elegant crowd: a snapshot of Parisian bohemia.

The Fifer

Painted around 1866.

💡 Did you know? The young military musician stands against an almost empty background: the Salon jury rejected the flat picture.

The Railway

Painted around 1873.

💡 Did you know? Instead of the locomotive Manet shows only steam: modernity stays mysteriously veiled.

The Execution of Emperor Maximilian

Painted around 1867.

💡 Did you know? Manet deliberately modelled the composition on Goya's „Third of May“: a political picture about a current event.

Nana

Painted around 1877.

💡 Did you know? The coquettish young woman at her dressing table was too risqué for the morals of the day and was rejected by the Salon.

The Old Musician

Painted around 1862.

💡 Did you know? A large early work that gathers the marginal figures of Parisian society with dignity.

Berthe Morisot with a Bouquet of Violets

Painted around 1872.

💡 Did you know? Manet portrayed Morisot several times; this dark likeness is considered especially haunting.

The Plum

Painted around 1878.

💡 Did you know? A young woman sits lost in thought with a cigarette in a café: an image of modern loneliness.

Édouard Manet

Édouard Manet (1832 to 1883) was a French painter who, as a pioneer of Impressionism, made modern life the subject of art.

💡 Did you know? Manet repeatedly provoked scandal with his pictures, yet at the same time longed for the official recognition of the Salon.