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Hailed
by young painters as their leader, Manet became
the central figure in the dispute between the
academic and rebellious art factions of his
time. In 1864 the official Salon accepted two
of his paintings, and in 1865 he exhibited his
Olympia (1863, Musée d'Orsay), a nude based
on a Venus by Titian, which aroused storms of
protest in academic circles because of its unorthodox
realism.
Manet served as an officer in the French army
from 1870 to 1871, during the Franco-Prussian
War. He did not gain recognition until late
in life, when his portraits became much sought
after. In 1882 one of his finest pictures, The
Bar at the Folies-Bergère (Courtauld Institute
and Galleries, London), was exhibited at the
Salon, and an old friend, who was then minister
of fine arts, obtained the Legion of Honor for
the artist. Manet died in Paris on April 30,
1883. He left, besides many watercolors and
pastels, 420 oil paintings.
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