Manet relished goading the French establishment, yet longed for the artistic recognition that came mostly after his death, laments Michael Prodger.
All painters must start somewhere, but Édouard Manet — who is the subject of a new exhibition at the National Gallery in London — found a particularly unusual route into his career. As a young man, his father ignored his wish to become an artist and forced him to join the merchant marine as a first step to becoming…
