(1832-1883) French painter. Active in Paris, he was one of the foremost French artists of the 19th century. Rebelling against the academic tradition, he developed a clear and unaffected realist style. His subjects were mainly contemporary, such as A Bar at the Folies-Bergčre 1882 (Courtauld Art Gallery, London).
Born in Paris, he trained under a history painter and was inspired by Goya and Velázquez and also by Courbet. His Déjeuner sur l’herbe/Picnic on the Grass 1863 and Olympia 1865 (both Musée d’Orsay, Paris) offended conservative tastes in their matter-of-fact treatment of the nude body. He never exhibited with the Impressionists, although he was associated with them from the 1870s.