Artists inspire: Edouard Manet - my stories about artists of the past, vol.3. Biography, paintings, stories:)

In my introduction I said that I graduated as an art critic. How a few years I worked at the museum in my city, but finally I became an artist myself. But I still have full head of interesting fakts and storys about great artists of past, which got me thinking: why not to share my knowledge here?:)

It's so happend that I started this regular podcast about artists with impressionists, so with them I'll yet continue. My last story was about Claude Monet, and it this one I'd love to tell you about Edouard Manet. Thouse two artists vere creating their artworks at nearly same time, they knew each other and they worked in the same art slyle, and their surnames sound very similar, so people often confuse them, and today I want to tell you about their difference:)

Edouard Manet was born on 23 January, year 1832 in Paris. Since he was a student he was interested in drawing much more, then it studying: his notebooks vere filled with drawings instead of study texts. But his father was agains artists career for his son, and Manet decided to become a sailor. He didn't succeed to enter the Higher Naval school, but managed to get a job as a cabin boy on a ship. During his sea trips he drew a lot of seascapes, and also portraits of the team members. He returned home and showed these drawings to his father. After that his parents were no longer against his artistic career. 

Throughout his life, Manet tried to gain official recognition of the French salon, but he constantly provoked scandals with his canvases. He did not intend it, just critics were not yet ready to accept this innovative style in painting.The most scandalous work in his entire career was "Olympia". Not only that he portrayed a modern, not ideal woman in the image of the Olimp goddess, but also did it the way no one has done before. The woman in the picture looks with an appraising look, this has already been enough to provoke a scandal. But this is not just a woman, but a vicious woman - a prostitute. Critics reacted on the picture very sharply. The hand lying on the thigh of Olympia was compared to a slippery toad, her body was scolded for the "dirty" color. The fact that the bouquet occupies more space in the picture than the faces of women - even this seemed to critics worthy of abuse. So, when the painting was just created - only artists like Manet himself loved it.

The same fate awaited his other canvases, and only in year 1879 the Salon finally approved two of his artworks: "In the boat" and "In the greenhouse".

In the last years of his life Manet was seriously ill with ataxia. This disease disrupts the coordination of movements, and in the end this led to the fact that the artist could no longer work with oil paints. At the end of his life he painted a series of pastels. In April 19, year 1883 his left leg was amputated, and 11 days later he died in a terrible agony.

So, now let's tell a few words about the difference betweem Manet and Monet:)

As you see on the pictires above, Manet's interest was mainly in depicting people. His innovation was that he dressed most of his models and asked them to accept casual poses, trying to get away from pompous academicism. At the same time, Monet concentrated himself on the depiction of nature, on the observation of its variability, so most of his works are landscapes. At the same time, Monet's painting technique is much freer, brush strokes wider, he is much more impressionist than Manet:)

This is where I want to remind you again that I really put much effort into creating this post:) English is my second, and it's not always easy for me to express my thoughts. I hope you liked my post. If you do- please upvote, resteem and follow, it really inspires me to create more long and informative posts:)   

Thank you for watching!:) 

Love, Inber