Édouard Manet Chronology
A Chronological Timeline of Events in the Life of French Realist Artist Édouard Manet
Date
Event
1832
Édouard Manet was born in Paris on January 23 to a prominent political family. His mother, Eugénie-Desirée Fournier, was the daughter of a diplomat. Édouard’s father, Auguste Manet, was a French judge employed by the Department of Justice.
The artist’s parents in Portrait of M. and Mme. Auguste Manet, oil on canvas, 1860
1844
Enters Collège Rollin. Expected to pursue legal studies and eventually fulfill his family’s hopes of pursuing a career in law.
1845
At the advice of his uncle, Charles Fournier, Manet enrolls in a special course on drawing. Meets Antonin Proust.
1848
Revolutions spread across Europe; in France, Napoleon is elected president of the Second Republic. Manet fails entrance exam to naval college and instead sails to Rio de Janeiro on the training ship Le Havre et Guadeloupe.
In Battle of the "Kearsarge" and the "Alabama", oil on canvas, 1864, Manet depicts the naval battle between Union and Confederate American forces. His experience at 16 years of age, training on Le Havre et Guadeloupe, must have served as a reference for his later marine paintings.
1850
Enters Thomas Couture’s painting studio. Registers as copyist in the Louvre.
Manet’s copy of Eugene Delacroix’s Bark of Dante, oil on canvas, c. 1859.
1852
Proclamation of Second Empire; Napoleon renames himself Napoleon III. Birth of Léon-Édouard Leenhoff, son of Suzanne, the Dutch-born piano teacher with whom Manet was romantically involved.
1853
Baron Georges Haussmann begins plans to rebuild Paris, transforming medieval streets into grand boulevards lit by gas street lamps. Manet tours other European cities, travelling to Dresden, Prague, Vienna, Munich, Normandy, Venice, Florence, and Rome.
1854
The American Commodore Perry opens up Japan to Western trade. Japanese art now available to European audiences.
Manet’s Portrait of Émile Zola, oil on canvas, 1867 - 8, with a Japanese print in the background
1855
Manet visits the famed Eugéne Delacroix at his studio in the rue Notre-Dame-de-Lorette. International Paris Exposition takes place; the first of its kind to include an international art exhibition.
1856
Manet leaves Couture’s teaching studio; sets up own studio in the rue Lavoisier with fellow painter Albert, Comte de Balleroy. Visits Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
Boy with Cherries, oil on canvas, 1859 depicts Manet’s studio assistant, begun on Rue Lavoisier
1857
Meets Henri Fantin-Latour at the Louvre. Travels to Florence, Italy.
1858
Meets Charles Baudelaire.
1859
Manet’s The Absinthe Drinker is turned down by the Salon; moves to new studio in the rue de la Victoire.
1862
Death of Auguste Manet, Édouard’s father. Manet paints Music in the Tuileries. Meets Victorine Meurent, who subsequently becomes his favored model. Manet shows etchings at Cadart’s in Paris. Becomes a founding member of the Société des Aquafortistes.
1863
Salon des refusé takes place; Manet shows Déjeuner sur l’herbe, which shocks audiences. Manet also shows a number of works at the Galerie Martinet. He marries Suzanne Leenhoff in Zalt-Bommel, Holland. Paints Olympia.
1864
Manet exhibits Episode from a Bullfight and Dead Christ with Angels at the Salon.
1865
Exhibits Olympia and Jesus Mocked by Soldiers at the Salon. Manet visits Madrid alone, where he experiences works by Manet, El Greco, and Velasquez firsthand. He had previously painted Spanish themes, but was newly inspired by the formal and coloristic features of these Spanish Masters.
Olympia, 1863, features Victorine Meurent as a resolute courtesan gazing directly at the viewer. This format defied painterly tradition and shocked audiences.
1866
Manet paints Matador Saluting in the traditional Spanish style. The Salon rejects The Fifer and The Tragic Actor. Manet meets Cézanne and Monet; he frequents Café Guerbois.
1867
Not invited to participate in the Exposition Universelle. Instead, Manet holds a major retrospective exhibition independently, showing 50 of his works next to exhibition grounds in his specially constructed tent. Manet paints the first version of The Execution of Emperor Maximilian.
1868
Meets Berthe Morisot. Paints Portrait of Émile Zola. Manet and family begin to spend ritual holidays at Boulogne-sur-Mer, where he makes a number of marine paintings, ferry departures, and beach scenes.
Moonlight on Boulogne Harbor, oil on canvas, 1868
1869
Eva Gonzales becomes Manet’s pupil and model. He exhibits The Balcony at the Salon; however, the politically charged work The Execution of Emperor Maximilian is banned. Makes lithographic poster, Cats’ Rendezvous, for Champfleury’s book Les Chats.
The Execution of Emperor Maximilian, oil on canvas, 1868-9
1870
Outbreak of Franco-Prussian War. Manet joins the National Guard and sends his family to the Pyrenees.
Civil War, lithograph, 1871 - 3, shows Manet’s take on the aftermath of war
1871
Commune of Paris is established in March; Manet elected to the artists’ committee. Commune is repressed that May; Manet rejoins his family.
Polichinelle, color lithograph, 1874. France’s conservative republican government censored this print because they believed it lampooned the military leader who helped suppress the Paris Commune of 1871.
1872
Manet moves his studio to rue de Saint-Pétersbourg. Travels to the Netherlands, renewing his familiarity with Dutch maters. Sells 24 pictures to prominent Paris art dealer, Durand-Ruel.
Bouquet of Violets
Bouquet of Violets, 1872
1873
Le Bon Bock shown to unexpected critical acclaim at the Salon. Manet meets Stéphane Mallarmé.
Le Bon Bock, oil on canvas, 1873, is directly reminiscent of Dutch art. This work marks a departure from Manet’s modern subjects and received praise from most conservative critics.
1874
First Impressionist Exhibition takes place; Manet is offered the chance to exhibit, but refuses. Contributes etchings to a volume of poems by Charles Cros. Re-issues a portfolio with some changes and additions to 1862 etchings. His brother, Eugene, marries Berthe Morisot. Manet spends the summer painting alongside Claude Monet at Argenteuil.
Berthe Morisot with a Bunch of Violets (above) of 1872 and The Swallows (below) of 1873 show Manet’s favored use of black paint. This reflects his propensity for black ink and the printed medium.
Woman Writing, black ink on paper, before 1864
1875
Manet shows The Seine at Argenteuil at the Salon. Travels to Venice. He contributes illustrations to Mallarmé’s French translation of The Raven.
1876
Mallarmé writes his profound appreciation for Manet, acknowledging the artist’s historic connection to art. Manet paints Portrait of Stéphane Mallarmé.
1877
Manet’s Nana is rejected by the Salon.
1878
Universal Exposition takes place in Paris; Manet avoids competing for admission by exhibiting work publicly in his own studio. Paints Self-Portrait with Skull Cap.
1879
Moves studio for the last time to 77 rue d’Amsterdam in April. Paints many small still-life pieces and flower paintings to amuse himself as he is overtaken by illness.
Two Roses on a Tablecloth, oil on canvas, 1882 - 3 (above) and Roses and Tulips, oil on canvas, 1882 (below) demonstrate Manet’s fondness for still life and flower painting after the late 1870’s.
1880
Paints Portrait of Antonin Proust, later shown at the Salon.
1881
Antonin Proust becomes Minister of Fine Arts. Manet is awarded a second-class Legion of Honor medal for his contribution to art.
The Lemon
The Lemon, 1881
1882
Manet’s health worsens; he draws up a will. A Bar at the Folies-Begère is exhibited at the Salon.
1883
Manet’s left leg amputated April 20. He dies on April 30 from complications of syphilis.
1884
Zola writes introduction to Manet’s memorial exhibition catalog. Edmond Bazire writes the first complete biography of Manet.
1910
Théodore Duret publishes Manet’s first oeuvre catalog, Manet and the French Impressionists.