The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones.
âJohn Maynard Keynes, economist
Many critics rendered harsh judgment when 40-year-old Ădouard Manet displayed his rather shocking painting Le Bain at an exhibition in Paris on May 15, 1863. Critics responded:
- Its garish colouring pierces the eyes like a steel saw; his figures seem to have been cut out with a punch and have a hardness that is capable of no soothing compromise. It has all the unpalatability of green fruits that will never ripen.1
- A young man's practical joke, a shameful open sore not worth exhibiting this way.2
- An absurd composition.3
Manet's controversial work featured a naked woman seated on the ground alongside two men fully clothed in stylish attire. The woman's blue dress and straw hat lay on the ground beside her, adjacent to a picnic basket and a loaf of bread. In the background, another woman bathes in a stream. Manet's work proved scandalous. He had not depicted a nude goddess in a scene from mythology, as many traditional painters did, but rather an unclothed woman in a modern Parisian scene. Some suggested that the painting depicted prostitutes working in the Bois de Boulogne, a large public park on the western edge of Paris. The painting elicited derision and ridicule from those who attended the exhibition. One person wrote that Manet's work met with a âveritable clamor of condemnation.â4 Another critic observed that, âNever was such insane laughter better deserved.â5
Le Bain (later retitled Luncheon on the Grass) elicited criticism not only due to the scandalous nature of the Parisian scene Manet depicted. It also challenged convention and tradition with its style; many considered Manet's approach quite radical and rather crude. He did not try to capture every detail with precision. Author Ross King wrote that, â[Manet] did not concern himself with realistically transcribing nature or ensuring the flesh tones of his subjects correctly matched their outdoor setting.â6 Instead, Le Bain appeared âsketch-likeâ and âroughly-painted.â7 Manet did not apply his paint in layers over the course of many weeks or even months, and he did not apply a glaze to the finished artwork. Instead, he pioneered the alla prima (at once) technique, using broad brushstrokes to paint a scene in one sitting. His work featured sharp contrasts of color rather than subtle transitions. The painting lacked proper perspective, too.8 Many critics rejected this radical new style. Manet lacked the finesse to which they had become accustomed.
In 1863, many people regarded Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier as âthe most renowned artist of our time.â9 Unlike Manet, Meissonier worked with great precision to depict scenes of 17th- and 18th-century life, as many other artists did at the time. His work evoked nostalgia for the past, depicting chivalrous gentlemen on horseback or men engaged in noble activities such as chess, music, painting, or reading. Meissonier also loved to depict famous scenes from Napoleon's military campaigns. He strove for historical accuracy and authenticity in every detail. Observers needed a magnifying glass to truly appreciate the minute details captured meticulously in each painting. Critics marveled at his physical dexterity. Meissonier amassed a considerable fortune and received great acclaim for his work. While Meissonier received praise, Manet once noted that, âInsults are pouring down on me as thick as hail.â10
In that era, French artists aspired to display their work at the Exhibition of Living Artists that took place annually in the Grand Palais des Champs-ĂlysĂ©es. Commonly referred to as the Paris Salon, the exhibition attracted as many as one million citizens over a six-week period. Manet submitted Le Bain in 1863, hoping it would be chosen by the members of the jury for inclusion in that year's salon. Count Alfred Ămilien O'Hara van Nieuwerkerke oversaw the selection process. He strove to preserve the highest possible standards for the salon. He favored the style of Meissonier, with its focus on history and idealism, and rejected the realism movement, with its embrace of ordinary life and people of all social classes. Commenting on these radical new artists, he said, âThis is the painting of democrats, of men who don't change their underwear.â11
Nieuwerkerke ruled that the jury should consist only of men who were members of the Académie des Beaux-Arts, an elite society of traditionalists intent on preserving the status quo. Approximately, 3,000 artists submitted more than 5,000 paintings for consideration in 1863. In mid-April, the jury announced its decisions. They had accepted only 2,217 paintings by 988 artists. The jury rejected Le Bain as well as two other paintings submitted by Manet. Other spurned artists included Gustave Courbet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro, Paul Cézanne, and James Abbott McNeill Whistler. Controversy swirled around the widespread rejections. Emperor Napoleon decided to intervene. Concerned about societal unrest and discontent, the emperor chose to embrace the idea of a separate exhibition consisting of the artwork rejected by the establishment. Soon this exhibition came to be known as the Salon des Refuses (exhibition of the rejects). More than 1,000 people per day attended, though many laughed at the rejected works of art. Manet submitted Le Bain for display, and mockery and ridicule ensued for him as well.
Amidst the deluge of criticism, a few astute observers noted the stark contrast between those accepted and rejected by the Paris Salon. They sensed that the ground had begun to shift. The famous journalist and art critic ThĂ©ophile ThorĂ© described it as a contrast between âconservatives and innovators, tradition and originality.â12 Amidst widespread criticism, younger artists took comfort that others shared their willingness to experiment and break new ground. Manet became a leader among this new generation of painters. He met regularly with other innovators such as Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Renoir, and Pissarro at CafĂ© Guerbois in Paris. They argued and debated, and they shared ideas on Sundays and Thursdays, becoming known as the Batignolles Group.
Ten years after the original salon controversy, Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, Degas, and others created the SociĂ©tĂ© Anonyme CoopĂ©rative des Artistes Peintres, Sculpteurs, Graveurs (Cooperative and Anonymous Association of Painters, Sculptors, and Engravers). They chose not to submit their work to the Paris Salon. Instead, they formed an independent exhibition, which opened to mixed reviews. Monet submitted a painting titled, Impression, Sunrise. Critic Louis Leroy mocked the painting in an article titled, The Exhibition of the Impressionists. He wrote, âImpressionâI was certain of it. I was just telling myself that, since I was impressed, there had to be some impression in itâŠand what freedom, what ease of workmanship! Wallpaper in its embryonic state is more finished than that seascape.â13 Others started referring to this group of renegade artists as the impressionists, and even the painters themselves adopted the name despite the fact that it had emerged from a scathing criticism of their work. We know how this story ends. Ultimately, Manet became known as the father of modernism, and the impressionist movement stands as one of the most consequential eras in art history.
The story of Manet and the impressionists should not surprise us. We have heard this type of story on many occasions. Today's experts reject tomorrow's creative geniuses. Conventional wisdom, preconceived notions, and cognitive biases blind the experts from recognizing the merits of bold new ideas. We trust experts and look to them for wise judgment, prescient forecasts, and sound leadership. Turn on the television, and you see a steady stream of pundits being called upon to weigh in on a variety of economic, political, and social issues. However, expertise may not transl...
