The Luncheon on the Grass _{(Edouard Manet, Impressionism)}

The Luncheon on the Grass depicts a female nude and a scantily dressed female bather on a picnic with two fully dressed men in a rural setting. Rejected by the Salon jury of 1863, Manet seized the opportunity to exhibit this and two other paintings in the 1863 Salon des Refuses, where the painting sparked public notoriety and controversy.

Manet referred to the works of classicism artists, but depicted the serene rural scenes in a brand-new naturalist approach. He replaced the perfect figures like Goddess and Virgin with ordinary people in daily lives. Also, the background was no longer devine but replaced with common views in the real world. This irritaed the Art Conservatives and critisized that it was absolutely shameless work.

However, Manet's innovative idea reflected in this painting quickly won the respect from young artists. "To record the visual reality" became the core proposition that impressionists puesued.

Manet's Other Works