Manet, �douard 1832-83
French painter

Born in Paris, he was originally intended for a legal career, and sent on a voyage to Rio to distract his thoughts from art. Nevertheless, between 1850 and 1856 he studied under Thomas Couture (1815-79), and his Spanish Guitar Player was awarded an honourable mention at the 1861 Salon. Pursuing official recognition, he entered his D�jeuner sur l'herbe for the Salon of 1863 but it scandalized the jury with its portrayal of a nude female with clothed male companions, and was rejected. This was followed by the acceptance of his Olympia in 1865, but, being a stark depiction of a woman obviously modelled by a prostitute, it elicited a similar outcry from the public. Manet was influenced by conventional artists: Olympia owes a great deal to the nudes of Giorgione, Titian and Raphael. But the strong contrasts he learned from the Spanish masters - he was an ardent admirer of Vel�zquez - and his adherence to the advice of Gustave Courbet in always selecting subjects from contemporary life marked him out from the older Salon artists. In the 1870s he came under the influence of the Impressionists and, in particular, of Monet while painting at Argenteuil, and his technique became free and more spontaneous. He never exhibited with the group but became a father-figure to them because of his stand against the conventions of the Salon. His last major work was Un Bar aux Folies-Berg�re (1881-82). In that year, official recognition finally arrived - he was appointed Chevalier of the Legion of Honour - but he died an embittered man.