Left: In the Boat, an impressionist painting by Edouard Manet (1832–1883). Right: Does nature imitate art? This snapshot of Debussy (second from the left) and some friends is startlingly similar in mood to the (earlier) painting by Manet. Painting:Scala/Art Resource, NY. Photograph: De Agostini Picture Library/G. Dagli Orti/The Bridgeman Art Library.