Anti-Traditional Eduard Manet's Style: Describe Manifesto

ART HISTORY REALISM
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The history of art takes a rather interesting path from the time of neoclassicism, through romanticism to realism. Eduard Manet was one of the pioneer realist artists of the time, standing in the same breath as Courbet, who is among the most famous realist artists. Manet was based his work on realism, non-traditionalism. Realism art purports that the most important components of an artistic piece are the people and the events of their respective times. He incorporated some elements of impressionism to his work, and essentially produced art based on real personalities and actual events. This paper will discuss his manifesto based on two of his masterpieces; the Luncheon on the Grass and Olympia.
The Luncheon on the Grass features two well-dressed men and two women; one nude and the other dressed. This painting departs from the general notion of conservatism that was in force during the era. There is virtually no contrast between the bright and dark aspects of its elements. He opted to go for the bold contrasts which brought out the work as block in appearance (Gardner & Kleiner, 2011).
Olympia was also as controversial and scandalous as The Luncheon on the Grass due to its knack for nudity. It pits a nude woman being served by a black woman and a black cat. Whereas the painting was generally based on classical elements, the nude woman symbolized a prostitute in the then current society. Departing from traditional art, Manet uses simplified forms flanked by bold brush strokes and imp...