author
Théodore Duret
1838–1927
An early champion of modern painting, he defended Courbet, Manet, and the Impressionists when their work still shocked many critics. His writing helped explain why these new artists mattered, and his eye for art made him an important figure in Paris’s cultural world.
1 Audiobook
Histoire de Édouard Manet et de son oeuvre
by Théodore Duret
About the author
Born in Saintes, France, in 1838, Théodore Duret became a journalist, author, art critic, and collector whose name is closely tied to the rise of modern French painting. He is especially remembered as one of the first strong supporters of Gustave Courbet, Édouard Manet, and the Impressionists.
Duret wrote at a time when these artists were still controversial, and he argued that their work deserved serious attention rather than dismissal. His best-known book, Critique d'Avant Garde (1885), is one of the works most associated with his support for the new movement. He also built relationships with artists and collectors, and later served as an adviser and buying agent for the American collector Louisine Havemeyer.
He died in Paris in 1927, leaving behind a reputation as a sharp observer of artistic change and an unusually brave defender of painters who would later become central to art history. For listeners interested in the world around Impressionism, Duret offers a direct link to the debates, friendships, and excitement of that era.