Portrait of Mademoiselle Isabelle Lemonnier

23. Januar 1832

Born

1849

A second failure at the naval school and his father's consent

In July 1849, back in Paris, Manet again failed the naval school examination. His father, having seen the drawings brought from the voyage, no longer doubted his son's vocation and advised him to enter the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris.

1863

“The Luncheon on the Grass” at the Salon des Refusés

The Salon of 1863 rejected “The Luncheon on the Grass” (originally “Le Bain”), and Manet exhibited it at the Salon des Refusés, a parallel exhibition initiated by Napoleon III after a public outcry, the jury having accepted only 2,217 of more than 5,000 submissions. The juxtaposition of dressed men and a nude woman and the sketch-like handling caused a scandal; one critic compared the brushwork to a “floor mop”.

1865

“Olympia” at the Salon: a scandal

In 1865 the Salon accepted “Olympia”, and the frank depiction of a self-assured prostitute created a scandal; according to Antonin Proust, only the precautions taken by the administration prevented the painting from being punctured and torn. The popular press caricatured it, while the avant-garde, including Courbet, Cézanne and Monet, championed it.

19 – 30 April 1883

An amputation and death eleven days later

On 19 April 1883 Manet underwent a very severe operation, the amputation of his left leg; eleven days later, on 30 April, despite the first signs of apparent recovery, he died in terrible agony.

30. April 1883

Died