Edouard Manet

Edouard Manet was a French painter who helped drag art into the modern age, even though he never thought of himself as a rebel. Born in Paris in 1832 to a well-off family, he shocked audiences in the 1860s with pictures like a nude woman staring boldly out at the viewer in a modern setting. The subjects and the flat, direct way he painted them broke the polite rules of the official art world and caused public scandals.

Though the younger Impressionists looked up to him, Manet kept seeking approval from the official Salon rather than joining their independent shows. He painted the cafes, bars, and streets of modern Paris with a fresh, offhand touch, treating everyday life as worthy of serious art. His work sits right on the hinge between the old tradition and the new painting that followed.