THE TALE OF THE TAPE

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FULL NAME: Oscar Claude Monet

TRAINING: Son of a grocer and a singer, scrambled to become an artist, mentored in oil painting by Eugène Boudin

REACH: Achieved worldwide acclaim in his lifetime

SPECIAL MOVES: Cripples opponents’ ego by mentioning how the term Impressionism is named after his work

FATALITY:  Lived to the ripe old age of 86 before succumbing to lung cancer

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FULL NAME: Édouard Manet

TRAINING: After failing to get into the Navy he copied the masters in the Louvre while receiving a top class art education

REACH: Resisted by critics, but earned the respect of peers for “depicting life as it was”

SPECIAL MOVES: After making a few solids jabs of Realism, he’ll throw a surprise uppercut of Impressionism

FATALITY: Syphylis victim, after the amputation of a gangrenous foot, dies at 51

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ROUND 1: Capacity To Produce Iconic Works

While it may be tempting to give this round to Monet, as more of his paintings have become well-known, we’ll still call it a tie. There’s no question that both painters shared a rare talent for the creation of iconic masterpieces.

famous Water Lily Pond painting Monet from 19th century art

Water Lily Pond by Monet

Bar at the Folies Bergeres by Manet from the 19th century

Bar at the Folies Bergères by Manet

ROUND 2: Demonstration Of National Pride

Both artists appeared to demonstrate an equal soft-spot for their homeland of France. This is clearly reflected in several pieces throughout both of their careers. Looks like we have another tie.

19th century art by Manet - painting: Races at the Bois de Boulogne

Races at the Bois de Boulogne by Manet

Garden At Sainte Adresse by Claude Oscar Monet, 19th century art/painting

Garden At Sainte Adresse by Monet

ROUND 3: Portraiture

The art of creating portraits was hugely popular in the 19th century and Manet was commonly known as a master of this craft…

Portrait of Alphonse Maureau - Manet, art from the 19th century

Portrait of Alphonse Maureau by Manet

However, Monet is the only combatant here today that had his portrait done by the likes of Pierre August Renoir!

Pierre August Renoir painted Claude Monet Reading painting from the 19th century

Portrait of Monet by Renoir

It looks like Manet turned out to be a lemon in the end.

Manet painting of a lemon from the 19th century French artist

The Lemon by Manet

VICTORY GOES TO MONET!