Luncheon on the Grass Claude Oscar Monet (1840-1926)
Claude Oscar Monet – Luncheon on the Grass
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Painter: Claude Oscar Monet
Location: Pushkin State Museum, Moscow (ГМИИ им. Пушкина).
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Monet is one of the main proponents of Impressionism. With his paintings he laid the foundations of modern fine art and revolutionized further European painting. "Breakfast on the Grass is a kind of manifesto in support of the painting of the same name by Édouard Manet, which in 1863 caused a real scandal in the Salon des Nobles. It depicted a naked woman surrounded by clothed men, an impertinence unheard of at the time.
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Description of Claude Monet’s painting Breakfast on the Grass
Monet is one of the main proponents of Impressionism. With his paintings he laid the foundations of modern fine art and revolutionized further European painting. "Breakfast on the Grass is a kind of manifesto in support of the painting of the same name by Édouard Manet, which in 1863 caused a real scandal in the Salon des Nobles. It depicted a naked woman surrounded by clothed men, an impertinence unheard of at the time. In 1865, Claude Monet began work on his own version of the painting "Breakfast on the grass. The canvas is conceived huge - 6x4,6 m. At first, the artist performs sketches and small sketches in the forest of Fontainebleau, and then separately in the studio draws the male and female models (for which posed his future wife Camille Doncier). Later, the artist combines everything harmoniously, blending the models into the landscape. The painting "Breakfast on the Grass" is a collection of elegant men and women picnicking in nature in the shade of centuries-old trees. From the heart carved into the bark of one of them, we can judge the romantic mood in which Monet created this masterpiece. The painting is built on the principles of light and shade. The sun’s rays pierce the entire canvas of the artist and flow through the leaves of the trees. Monet was desperately looking for light and literally filled his entire painting with it, the sun’s rays gently laying on various fragments of the painting - the fabric on the dresses of the ladies, sections of grass or human skin. Unfortunately, the painting was never completed and in 1878 Monet left it to his hotelier to pay the rent. Many years later, the artist is trying to finish his neglected masterpiece, but some parts of it are badly damaged by moisture, so Monet simply cut off the unnecessary and from the fundamental idea remains only fragments, which today are stored in the Louvre, and sketch paintings in full size - in the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow. Only thanks to these surviving fragments can the descendants of the French impressionist today still admire his God-given talent.
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Claude Monet began work on the painting Breakfast on the Grass at a relatively young age of 25. This artwork could have become one of the most grandiose in art history, but unfortunately, it was never finished. The initial dimensions of the painting were supposed to be 4x6 meters.
He was inspired to start this canvas by Édouard Manets scandalous painting of the same name, which was presented in 1863 at the Salon des Refusés in Paris. The artist who inspired Monet depicted a nude woman in the foreground surrounded by dressed men.
Two years later, Claude began working on his version of the painting. The main idea of the artist was to study lighting in the forest, shadows under the crowns of trees and in the clearing. There are no naked people in this version of the painting. The canvas depicts ladies and gentlemen in elegant attire. In addition, the technique of this artist differs from that of his inspiration. The models posed for Monet in the studio, after which he placed their silhouettes in the landscape.
The artist was in a hurry while painting the picture. Breakfast on the Grass turned out to be quite expensive due to its planned dimensions and the need for Monet to constantly move between the forest and the studio.
A distinctive feature of this painting is the reflected rays of sunlight, which penetrate through the foliage and emphasize the folds of elegant dresses. The rays permeate the canvas and easily spread over the fragments depicted on it: the clothes and faces of people, the grass and the dishes.
Breakfast on the Grass was supposed to be presented at the Paris Salon a year after work began. However, Monet considered the canvas still imperfect. As a result, he never finished working on this painting. The reason may have been the arrival of Gustave Courbet to the young artist. He advised the young man who wanted to conquer the Paris Salon with his work to temper his ardor, although until then he had always been favorable to him. In 1878, Monet had to give the painting as payment for lodging to the owner of a hotel in Argenteuil.
Several years later, he decided to find his canvas. The artist found it in the basement, where it was stored rolled up. Over many years, some fragments of the painting were damaged by dampness. Monet had to restore some of the surviving parts of Breakfast on the Grass. As a result, only the central and left fragment remained of the painting.
Currently, the remnants of this troubled work of art are kept in the Louvre. A full-size sketch of the painting is kept in the Pushkin Museum, which allows one to judge the grandeur of the painting that Monet began.
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The painting, Luncheon on the Grass by Édouard Manet, depicts a picnic scene in a sun-dappled forest. A group of figures, some dressed in contemporary 19th-century attire, are gathered around a white picnic blanket laden with food and drink. Two men in suits are engaged with the women, who are also dressed in fashionable clothing. A small dog is positioned in the foreground, and a second dog is visible in the background. The scene is bathed in a dappled light filtering through the leaves of the overarching trees, creating a lively and somewhat informal atmosphere.
The subtexts of this painting are complex and have been a subject of much art historical discussion.
One of the most striking subtexts is the deliberate juxtaposition of the nude and clothed figures. In Manets time, nudes in art were typically relegated to mythological or allegorical contexts. By placing a nude woman casually among clothed men and women in a contemporary setting, Manet challenged conventional artistic and social norms. This has been interpreted as a commentary on the changing social mores of the Parisian bourgeoisie, particularly the blurring lines between formality and informality, public and private life.
The painting can also be seen as a commentary on realism and modernity. Manet broke away from the idealized depictions and historical subjects favored by the academic art establishment. He chose to paint modern life, with all its freedoms and potential scandals, in a direct and unflinching manner. The realistic rendering of the figures, their clothing, and the setting, combined with the unconventional composition, signaled a shift towards a more modern artistic sensibility.
Furthermore, the picnic setting itself can be seen as a subtext for leisure and social interaction, but also potentially for flirtation and illicit encounters. The gazes of the figures, the casual arrangement of bodies, and the presence of the food and wine suggest a relaxed social occasion, but the direct gaze of the nude woman towards the viewer, who acts as a voyeur, introduces an element of sexual tension and a questioning of the viewers own role and expectations.
Finally, Manets painting is often seen as a reimagining of classical art. Specifically, it is a modern interpretation of Giorgiones The Pastoral Concert and Raphaels engraving The Judgment of Paris, both of which feature nude figures in pastoral settings. Manets approach, however, is far more direct and less idealized, making his engagement with art history a provocative rather than a reverent one.