Brief Biography-Edouard Manet failed to become a naval officer at the French Naval Academy, so he studied art in Paris under Thomas Couture. Except for a spell in Italy in 1853, where he studied the old masters, he spent six years with Couture. The style of his master influenced him; however, the works of Velázquez and other Spanish artists impressed him the most. His travels also took him to Austria, Germany, Holland, and Flanders. Still, he only visited Spain for a short period; Spanish paintings were plentiful in the Louvre for him to study.
The impressionist group, which included Renoir, Monet and Cezanne was greatly influenced by him. Manet, however, preferred to align himself with the Salon despite sympathising with them. In 1863, his painting Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe, Luncheon on the Grass, caused outrage and criticism. There was a similar reaction to the painting Olympia in 1865. Although he was friends with most impressionists, including Morisot and Degas, he did not participate in their exhibitions. While interacting with their work, realism became a more accepted attribution to his style. In 1881, Manet was awarded the Légion d’Honneur and a second-class medal by the Salon through the influence of Antonin Proust, the Minister of Arts. His last exhibition at the Salon was in 1883 when he died.