Manet's Not-Noble Art
1850 AD
1850 1850
02.20E48.53N
ART

PARIS, FRANCE
	Edouard Manet decided to study law, but failed the entrance examination. Then he decided to enter the navy, but again failed the test. In 1850 he decided to be a painter, and there he succeeded.
	Manet was the son of a French civil servant and jurist. Because of his family's money, he did not need to struggle to sell his works. He had a gentleman's manners and always wore impeccable clothes, but he was often cruel in his remarks. One observer said, "He always found the right words to tear and destroy at one blow."
	Though Manet did not worship spontaneity as much as other impressionist painters, he did take his subjects from everyday life. His first major work was "The Absinthe Drinker" (1859), which depicted a bleary-eyed man who had apparently been drinking too much of the flavored liquor.
	That Manet chose a low-life topic instead of a great moment in history made "The Abisnthe Drinker" unpopular, but not nearly as unpopular as his "Olympia" (1863), which caused outrage not for depicting a nude woman--which was common--but for depicting a prostitute. It was hung up high, out of range of angry art patrons with umbrellas and canes.
	Other impressionist artists did not introduce politics into their art, but on occasion Manet did. Shocked at the brutal suppression of a Paris revolutionary group called the "Commune," Manet painted "The Barricade," showing a brutal street battle scene. And though he was one of the more conservative of the impressionists, he was the only one ever to have a painting banned. It was a caricature of General MacMahon, who was in charge of the suppression of the Paris Commune.
