"In this investigation of the artist and the society in which he lived, Anne Coffin Hanson examines the ambiguities that surround Manet. Manet is seen not just as an artistic genius, but as a man of his times, subject to the same influences and interests as his contemporaries, and painting, at least initially, with the same knowledge of his craft as his fellow artists. What emerges is a totally new concept of the man and what he was trying to do: a modern artist, complex, witty, ironical, and deeply involved in the world of his day"--Publisher's description.