This eagerly-awaited exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts was the first-ever retrospective devoted to the portraiture of Édouard Manet. Covering the entire career of this enigmatic and sometimes controversial artist, the exhibition brought together works from Europe, Asia and the United States. Manet's portraiture has never been the subject of an exhibition, although it represents around half of his artistic output. He painted his family, friends and the literary, political and artistic figures of the day, bringing to life not only his subjects but also Parisian society.