... the first modern painter; he really pushed his painterly techniques and subject matter to the limits. This was advice he got from Charles Baudelaire, a French poet and critic who started writing art criticism. He urged artists to take subjects from men and women in the streets and the streets itself. Essentially Manet started Impressionism, as in his first paintings, he abandoned the traditional techniques of soft shading and went for more harsh contrasts. He also wanted the modern world to change. Manet lived and worked in the city of Paris and at this time of Modernisation, many new things were occurring about the city. I think that this was a big factor in his work being so modern. It was a time of industrialisation and mechanisation, and the city is the place for change, opportunity and adventure. The city was seen as the modern experience. The city offers so ...

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