The double Manet: Two parallel exhibitions illuminate different aspects of the life and work of Édouart Manet

Francisco de Goya is famous for the satires and caricatures he created around 1800, which quickly spread throughout Europe. Goya's masterful craftsmanship in the then fairly new aquatint technique, in addition to the unsparing content of his images, further contributed to his fame. Both technique and motifs inspired Édouard Manet half a century later to turn his attention to prints, an influence that can now be vividly traced in the exhibition »Goya and Manet. Revolutionary Etchings«.

During Manet's lifetime, his artworks were regularly accompanied by scandals. He was publicly defended at the time not least by the art critic Zacharie Astruc, who became a friend of Manet. In the 1860s, Manet primarily painted images of »modern life« and exerted great influence on other painters of his age, such as Henri Fantin-Latour and Alphonse Legros. However, at the biennial Salon de Paris, the most important exhibition of the Paris art market in the 19th century, he was repeatedly rejected for indecent paintings and his rough painting style. It was not until after Manet's death in 1883 that the general public also recognized the importance of his work.

The exhibition »Manet and Astruc. Artist Friends« sheds light on their friendly relationship, which was also characterized by intense discussions about painting. Astruc, who is largely forgotten today, was a well-known critic during his lifetime who, together with Manet, propagated the taste of the avant-garde. With these two exhibitions on Goya's influence on Manet and his friendship with Astruc, the Kunsthalle Bremen now takes a look at two important people for Manet, which helps to understand Manet's work in his time.