Edouard Manet, Early Impressionist

Edouard Manet
(Wikipedia)

Edouard Manet (1832-1883) was a French painter whose work opened up new possibilities in art, in several ways.

Before Manet, many artists concentrated on scenes from the Bible, or from classical stories like Greek or Roman mythology. Other artists focused on landscapes (paintings of scenery) or still lifes (arrangements of items on a table, perhaps including flowers, food, dead animals, books, tableware, and so on). In addition to such traditional subjects, Manet painted modern life: people in modern clothing drinking and dining in bars and cafes, boating on lakes, and strolling in the city. His café paintings were especially notable, showing people doing everyday things: reading, flirting, or just waiting for friends.

At the Café (1878)
(Wikipedia)

His painting The Luncheon on the Grass was considered shocking because it showed a modern woman nude with two clothed men, having a picnic. Nudity was all right in classical paintings, and even Biblical scenes like the ones showing Adam and Eve, but real people weren't supposed to be shown that way!

Another aspect of Manet's painting that made it new and different was the way he applied the paint to the canvas. Before him, most artists made an effort to show things as realistically as possible, a technique called "Realism." Manet used his paint more freely, leading toward a style that would be called "Impressionism."

A bit older than the other Impressionists, Edouard Manet led the way for the major movement that was to follow.

The Luncheon on the Grass (1863)
(Wikipedia)

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PRACTICE:

Vocabulary: Match the words to their meaning. Correct answers are below.

1. applied
2. arrangements
3. canvas
4. everyday
5. flirting
6. mythology
7. nude
8. picnic
9. strolling
10. traditional

A. attractive ways of putting things together
B. common; usual
C. meal with friends outdoors, often seated on the grass
D. old-fashioned
E. put on; placed
F. stories about the gods
G. talking with a person of the opposite sex, sometimes in order to get a date
H. the rough cloth material on which a painter paints
I. walking around in a relaxed way
J. without clothes

QUESTIONS TO ANSWER:

Answer the following questions in your own words. Suggested answers are below.

1. Name (at least) one way in which Manet broke with artistic tradition.
2. What was shocking about his painting The Luncheon on the Grass?
3. What was different about the way Manet applied his paint to the canvas?

QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT:

These questions do not have "right" or "wrong" answers. They only ask your opinion.

1. Do you prefer paintings to look more realistic, like photographs, or should they be more impressionistic?
2. Do you prefer art to show "big subjects," like mythology or religion, or would you rather see everyday scenes?
3. Why do you think the movement Manet was a part of was called "Impressionism"?