Édouard Manet (1832-1883). French Impressionist painter. He perhaps had the misfortune of starting at a time when the pendulum of history was deviating from traditional academic painting and Impressionism: for his generational peers, he was too progressive and for young painters, he was too traditional. Manet had an innovative spirit that, during his study of old masters (such as Diego Velázquez), he complemented with an excellent painting technique. From the Impressionists, he took a penchant for displaying reality using long expressive brush strokes, studying objects in the open air, and concentrating on working with light and colour. Unlike the Impressionists, however, he did not give up black colours, contours and classical composition. In fact, he did not even want to be associated with the Impressionists – he wanted his paintings to be included independently in Salon exhibitions and avoided the label of Impressionism.