Edouard Manet

'Edouard Manet, a French artist, inspired the impressionist style of painting. He was born in Paris, France on January 23, 1832. His mother, Eugenie-Desiree Fournier was the goddaughter of a Swedish prince, and his father, Auguste Manet, was a French judge. He wanted Edouard to go to law school and have a career in law too. Edouard wanted a career in painting, not law. His uncle, Charles Fournier, encouraged Edouard to be a painter; he would take him to the Louvre, a gallery.

Edouard Manet went to Paris, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands to practice his painting. He would paint subjects like beggars, cafes, bullfights, and other events and scenery. His famous painting, Le dejeuner sur l'herbe (Luncheon on the Grass), a picnic scene, was shown in a new exhibition building built by Napoleon III. He didn't enter any of the impressionist exhibitions because he didn't think of his paintings as impressionist paintings. He married Suzanne Leenhoff before he served in the Franco-Prussian war from 1870-71. His friend, Emile Zola printed Manet's paintings in his newspaper called Figaro. Edouard became friends with [Edgar Degas]?, Claude Monet, [August Renoir]?, [Alfred Sisly]?, Paul Cézanne, and [Camille Pissaro]?. They would meet in salons and exhibit their paintings. They influenced each other and Manet was influenced to use lighter colors and paint areas of light and dark. Many people disliked his paintings, but other artists liked his impressionist style. He made paintings of the Franco-Prussian war, which he fought in.

One of Manet's most famous paintings is Le dejeuner sur l'herbe, Luncheon on the grass. The Salon refused to exhibit it in 1863 because it featured dressed men and a nude woman. He exhibited it at the salon de Refuses later in the year. Claude Monet liked his painting and made a similar one a few years later. Another famous painting by Manet is Olympia. He painted this painting in a new style of realism than the style used by Courbet.

Manet died in Paris on April 30, 1883. He inspired future impressionist painters with his new style of painting.