David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants

were huge, meticulously painted
canvases showing scenes from French
history or mythology, with horses and
armies or beautiful women, with titles
like Soldier’s Departure, Young Woman
Weeping over a Letter, and Abandoned
Innocence.
The Impressionists had an entirely
different idea about what constituted art.
They painted everyday life. Their
brushstrokes were visible. Their figures
were indistinct. To the Salon jury and
the crowds thronging the Palais, their
work looked amateurish, even shocking.
In 1865, the Salon, surprisingly,
accepted a painting by Manet of a
prostitute, called Olympia, and the
painting sent all of Paris into an uproar.