Luncheon on the Grass

ÉDOUARD MANET (1832—1883) Luncheon on the Grass, 1863, panel, oil, 208×264.5
This painting became the cause of the first open clash between the young art of the 1860s, whose soul was considered to be Manet, and public tastes, represented by the Academy. Considering his main task to be the creation in painting of an image of his own era, Manet made a bold attempt to interpret a classical composition (he was inspired by the Louvre painting by Giorgione “The Pastoral Concert” and a similar engraving based on Raphael’s painting) as a contemporary scene: on a freely composed background of masses and patches of color in a landscape, he depicted a group of characters — men in contemporary suits and naked women; viewers easily recognized Manet’s model Victorine Meurent, his brother Eugène, and the well-known Parisian journalist Zacharie Astruc. The outraged jury did not accept the painting for exhibition at the Salon. Only connoisseurs duly appreciated Manet’s painting technique, the beauty of his color.