Edouard Manet, the man who shocked France with nudity, executions and everyday life

Michael Prodger | Country Life | 2nd November 2022

A profile. Manet could be difficult – ambitious, petty, provocative, “never shy of the unorthodox”. When sentimental pastoral vistas were popular, he painted life in Paris. Rejected by the 1867 Exposition, he simply hired a venue and exhibited himself. So what? Besides, his own innovative (but misunderstood) painting, Manet mentored “young rebels” such as the Impressionists and was prophetic in his challenge to the art establishment to accept the radical art arriving on its doorstep.