Happy Birthday Manet

Today would have been French painter Edouard Manet’s birthday.  Edouard Manet – not to be confused with fellow Impressionist Claude Monet – was part of the impressionist movement.  Impressionism is one of my favorite artistic movements.   

In celebration of Manet’s birthday, here are some facts this artist:  ​

• He was born January 23, 1832 and died April 30, 1883.  If he were still alive today he would be 185 years old!  
• Manet has been regarded as the Father of Modernism due to his important role in the movement from Realism to Impressionism.
• Manet’s style is characterized by simplified details and loose brushstrokes.
• Although he experimented with plein air, he often preferred the traditional studio setting.
• His paintings depicted urban working people as well as the bourgeoisie.
• Manet’s works, such as “Olympia” and “Luncheon on the Grass” (pictured above) were considered controversial at the time due to the depicted sexuality of the female subjects.
• Manet was friends with the other French Impressionists of the time – Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Camille Pissarrio, Alfred Sissley, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Berthe Morisot, as well as others.

Sources:
http://www.manetedouard.org/
​https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89douard_Manet