The Absinthe Drinker

1861

His first participation in the Salon

In 1861 the Salon accepted two canvases by Manet: “Portrait of Monsieur and Madame Manet” and “The Spanish Singer”. Critics received the portrait coldly, while “The Spanish Singer” was admired by Théophile Gautier and, because of its popularity, hung in a more conspicuous place; the work intrigued young artists and brought new business to his studio.

1862

“Music in the Tuileries”: the fury of the public

In 1862 Manet exhibited “Music in the Tuileries” (probably painted in 1860), where the strollers include the poet Baudelaire, the musician Offenbach and the artist himself. It mostly provoked fury: the thick brushstrokes looked crude and unfinished, several visitors threatened to destroy the canvas; Delacroix defended it, and the controversy made Manet a well-known name in Paris.

c. 1862

Victorine Meurent: model and lover

Victorine-Louise Meurent, a young provincial eager to escape poverty, posed for “The Street Singer”; soon the painter and his model were bound not only by creative but by intimate ties. Rumours spread across Paris, but Suzanne either learned nothing or did not let on.

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”.

1863

Marries Suzanne Leenhoff

In 1863, a year after his father's death, Manet married Suzanne Leenhoff at a Protestant church: a Dutch-born piano teacher two years his senior with whom he had been romantically involved for about ten years. Auguste Manet had employed her to teach his sons the piano, and she may also have been Auguste's mistress.

1863

Married: Suzanne Manet