A naked lady, booze, and a chance meeting in a Spanish restaurant resulted in this Manet masterpiece.

Manet fled Paris for Spain in 1865 to escape the fallout from the Olympia scandal - an uproar regarding his notorious portrait of what appeared to be a nude hooker awaiting clients.  Meanwhile, bon-vivant art critic Theodore Duret also landed in Spain as part of an extended world tour, thanks to his family’s cognac trading business.  Manet and Duret happened to strike up a conversation while dining in the same restaurant, and became BFFs.

Manet wasn’t having a very good time in Spain. He hated Spanish food, and couldn’t learn the language. Duret wasn't the biggest fan of Impressionist artists, calling their work “too rapid and hasty”; but these two negative nancies with seemingly contradictory interests hit it off famously.  Manet won his new buddy over to the side of Impressionism, lucky for him since Duret had plenty of money to spend on art, and strong cultural influence in Paris. Flip flopping faster than a Mitt Romney campaign, Duret went on to become the most prominent early supporter of Impressionism.

Manet conceived this portrait while he and Duret were on a pilgrimage to see the paintings of their mutual idol Diego Velazquez. Manet was inspired by the Spanish Master’s technique of placing a stark figure against a neutral background with no linear definition between the floor and walls. He gave the painting to Duret as a thank you for his unflagging patronage.

Duret was amused by Manet’s vision of him, saying “I find your chap very gallant!”  He was deeply attached to the portrait, keeping it in his private collection for many years before donating it to the Petit Palais. So, next time you’re in a restaurant, talk to the person next to you...you might just end up with multimillion dollar investment.