| Edouard Manet (January 23, 1832, Paris – April 30, 1883, Paris) - French painter & one of the founders of Impressionism.
In 1863 and 1864, Manet exhibited his paintings in both the Paris Salon & Salon of the Rejected, where his paintings, especially “The Luncheon on the Grass” have aroused indignation from the critics. Rejection was at its peak during 1865, when in salon Manet exhibited his “Olympia” (presently famous) painting, which was acclaimed by his contemporaries as extremely indecent & vulgar & provoked great controversy in those times.
Harassment by artists & “educated public” compelled the artist to literally flee to Spain, where, he used his stay there to his advantage by acquainting with the works of El Greco, Diego Velazquez and F.Goya Goji & finding justification of his own aesthetic taste in them.
From now on, Manet, who was regularly rejected by jury of salons, associates with group of young artists, who were soon called “Impressionists”. Claude Monet, Paull Cezanne and Edgar Degas become friends and followers of Manet, author of "Olympia". In 1867, during International Exhibition, Manet sets up his own pavilion near Alma Bridge. 50 paintings of Manet were put on exhibition – best paintings created during his 10 years of artistic life. Probably, this decisive step led to acceptance of his works in the following two salons. Anyway, artist resolutely leads his own path.
In 1869, Manet meets a young artist Eve Gonzales, whom he requested to pose for portrait. Eva Gonzales was Manet's only student.
Tendency towards still lives & portraits is evident in Manet’s paintings from 1877. Influence of Velazquez’s creations is quite visible on Edouard. Gradually, artist gets recognition. From 1879, authority of Manet grows in the opinion of art critics & his paintings were accepted by the art galleries. In one of the art galleries, Manet’s painting won second place, which gave him a chance to exhibit his paintings bypassing the Jury selection.
"The day, when people want to describe the achievements or short-comings of 19th century French paintings, Cabanel can be ignored but not the Eduoard Manet”.
Nevertheless, Edouard Manet’s creativity was not recognized upto the end of 1890s. Only then, his paintings were bought in private & state collections ( “Olympia” remained practically with Louvre friends of Edouard, who purchased it according to public subscription in 1889).
During Paris siege in 1870, Manet as staunch republican remained in the capital. After French-Prussian war and Paris Commune, artist becomes even closer to young impressionists. For example, numerous paintings, made in open air, side by side with Claude Monet in Argenteuil in 1874, testify about this. Nevertheless, Manet did not want to participate in exhibitions of Impressionists. He preferred to get recognized by jury of Paris Salon at any cost. Next controversy with his name flared up in 1874. “The Railway” once again was subject of acute antipathy of jury. And only in 1879, Salon assessed persistence of the artist: Manet's painting “In the Conservatory” & “Boating” have received a cordial welcome.
Family:
In 1863, Manet married Suzanne Leenhoff, Dutch woman, with whom the artist had romantic affair for almost 10 years. Leenhoff taught piano to Manet’s younger brothers. It is assumed that Suzanne was mistress of Manet’s father, Auguste. In 1851, Suzanne gave birth to a boy, Leon Leenhoff. Manet married Suzanne a year after the death of his father. Leon & Suzanne have served as models for many paintings of the artist.
In September 1879, Manet had first acute attack of rheumatism. Soon, it was diagnosed that the artist is suffering from ataxia – movement coordination disorder. Illness quickly progressed restricting the creative possibilities of the artist. During this period, artist painted numerous still-live & watercolor paintings. In December 1881, as per the recommendations of Antonin Proust, childhood friend of the artist & new Minister for Culture, Manet was awarded “National Order of the Legion of Honor”.
Final years:
Overcoming the illness, Manet painted his last major oil canvas “A Bar at the Folies-Bergere”, which was received with enthusiasm in the Salon in 1882. In these years, Manet at last got recognition for his talent – even from the people, who criticized him entire life. It was becoming difficult for the artist not only to work but also to move. On April 19, 1883, his left leg was amputated & 11 days later, Edouard Manet passed away in terrible agony. Entire family of Paris artists assembled for funeral of great painter. |
This Saturday the artistic world is celebrating the 178th birthday of Edouard Manet - the French artist who greatly contributed to impressionism and realism movement in art. Prior to becoming an artist, Manet twice failed the examination to join the navy, after which he decided to pursue a career in art, where his talents were quickly discovered. Manet studied under the academic painter Thomas Couture, a painter of large historical paintings. In his spare time he copied the old masters in the Louvre.
