(b. Jan. 23, 1832, Paris, France--d. April 30, 1883, Paris)
French painter and printmaker who in his own work accomplished the
transition from the
realism of
Gustave Courbet to
Impressionism.
Manet broke new ground in choosing subjects from the events and
appearances of his own time and in stressing the definition of
painting as the arrangement of paint areas on a canvas over and above
its function as representation. Exhibited in 1863 at the Salon des
Refusés, his
Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe
("Luncheon on the Grass")
aroused the hostility of the critics and the enthusiasm of a group of
young painters who later formed the nucleus of the Impressionists. His
other notable works include
Olympia (1863) and
A Bar at the Folies-Bergère (1882).
[Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1994]
(biographie en français)
Le Bar aux Folies-Bergère
1881-82; Courtauld Institute Galleries, London
This sparkling portrayal shows extensive use of
peinture claire,
a technique Manet himself evolved.