Edouard Manet

Essential figure in the evolution from Realism to Impressionism, Edouard Manet was an significant painter who left his own distinctive mark on the world of painting. The young artist was influenced by Frans Hals, Diego Velazquez, and Francisco Goya. After Manet opened his own studio, he began painting in a realist technique, which soon changed to a Impressionist style when he met the Berthe Morisot. She represented him to her circle of Impressionist painter friends, including Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Edgar Degas, and their plein air painting techniques. Many of Manet’s works rotated around interpretations of leisure activities, including observations of social life in all of the classes, from bourgeois horse racing to prostitutes drinking, to the streets of Paris and boating scenes, many of which were made from sketches done on the spot. Although his work was Impressionistic, he resisted involvement with any specific style of painting.