Edouard Manet, French painter, used to venerate Classical paintings and Spanish painters, particularly those of the "Golden century" (Le siècle d'Or). Son of an important magistrate and judge at the court of appeal, Edouard Manet became one of the major Impressionist painter.

Luncheon on the Grass Déjeuner sur l'herbe

He created in 1863 "Luncheon on the Grass" which was shown in the galleries of the Palais de l'industrie when the opening of the "Salon des Refusés took place, having been set up at Napoleon III's behest to compensate for the severity of that year's jury of academicians. Here Manet enjoyed a "succès de scandale" with his picture. It was shocking because of its subjects. Manet himself simply described it as a foursome even though he realized a dream common to all painters, that of putting life-size figures into a landscape setting...

Le Balcon/The Balcony

In 1868-1869 "Le Balcon". In 1950, The Belgian painter Magritte done exactly the same composition with the same title. Magritte replaces the three figures with three coffins, one in a seated position, you can see it in the museum at Ghent.

At last, in 1873 Manet was venerated by artists and writers and had also started to know better times financially .

On the beach/Sur la plage

1878 was the year he painted "On the beach (Sur la plage) in which the sitters are his wife Suzanne and his brother Eugène.

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