Brief Biography-Edouard Manet failed in his efforts to become a naval officer at the French Naval Academy and so 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 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 being in sympathy 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 of the impressionists, including Morisot and Degas, he didn't 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, the year in which he died.