Édouard Manet
Luncheon on the Grass
1863
Rejected by the 1863 Salon and shown instead in the Salon des Refusés, Édouard Manet's 2.1 × 2.6 m painting caused an immediate scandal. A contemporary female nude, calmly meeting the viewer's gaze, picnics in a forest glade beside two fully-dressed gentlemen, while a second, lightly-clad woman bathes in the pool behind. By transposing a composition borrowed from Titian and Raphael into scandalous modern dress, Manet confronted bourgeois morality on its own terms and opened one of the foundational chapters of modern painting.
Exhibition Venue
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