Annotates Bibliography of Gauguin

Edouard Manet: An Annotated Bibliography

Bataille, Georges. Manet. Ohio: The World Publishing Company, 1869.

According to Bataille, Manet created a place all of his own in the history of art, by cutting himself off from all other painters that came before him by embracing what we now call modern art. Manet paintings were viewed as shocked and scandalized his contemporary peers. Manet was labeled as a revolutionist by some critics for his rebellion against the norm. Duranty a critic wrote in 1870 "even from many rooms away, there is only one painting that stands out from all the rest: it's a Manet everytime. One is apt to laugh, for the effect is queer when a single thing differs from all the others." (Bataille, pg 17) The critics of that time period expected for all artists to paint a certain way, but Manet refused to conform. Manet defied the public's standard of beauty and in his paintings he painted beauty as he saw it. As are all great painters Manet's work was ridiculed by the public because they were un-excepting of something different.

Manet is believed to be one of the father's of impressionism his drive to change the way the public viewed art earned him this title. He received his first taste of notoriety after his 30th birthday in February of 1863, when he showed Concert at the Tuileries at the Galerie Martinet. (Bataille, pg 18) In 1865 Manet showed Olympia which caused the critics to be turned off by his lack of personality, which they believed Degas had. Zola and Zacharie were constantly defending Manet to critics because they knew him on a personal level. Manet's Portrait of Stephane Mallarme was a landmark in the history of modern art and literature. (Bataille, pg 25) Manet painted portraits with Romanticism and a provocative ego.

This allowed me to get a glimpse into the views of Manet from his friends' point of view. They saw Manet from a different view and the genius of his paintings. Manet despite the ridicule from the public and critics continued to painting on his own terms and fashion. He painted portraits as he saw them; he took a look and captured what he saw on the canvas. He also painted passion and it showed in his work. By reading this book it allowed me to understand that painting is not a learned art you must have some form of passion or imagination to be a great painter.

Venturi, Marcello. Manet. New York: Rizzoli International Publications, 2006.

Manet was the first to break the system and unleash the creativity that paved the way form impressionism and modern painting in general. Some wondered if Manet planned to rebel against the standards that were set or if it were mere instinct. Those who knew him couldn't believe that Manet a mild mannered gentleman of the upper class could be causing such uproar. Manet would walk through