This book represents a radical reappraisal of the life and work of ??douard Manet. Through a thorough examination and interpretation of nearly every major painting (and many of the prints) Manet exhibited publicly between 1861 and 1882, the author arrived at the following conclusions. First, Manet was vitally and consistently concerned with the iconographical content of his major work; second, the iconographical content of Manet s work throughout his career was determined by a single underlying set of principles; third, the underlying principles from which Manet s iconography consistently derived had their origins in the aesthetics of Charles Baudelaire; fourth, the form of Manet s Baudelairean content was consistently derived from the appearance and ontology of mid-nineteenth century photography; fifth, Manet consistently presented emblematic, veiled self-portraits in his work; and sixth, the particular feature of Baudelairean aesthetic employed by Manet at any given time in his career was determined, to a large extent, by autobiographical concerns. The author argues that Manet s widely acknowledged adaptation of japonisme and impressionism can also be seen as further manifestations of his underlying Baudelairean cosmology.