Édouard Manet - The Luncheon on the Grass 1863

Victorine Meurent in the costume of an Espada 1862 Fishing 1863 Olympia 1863 The Luncheon on the Grass 1863 Woman writing 1863 Young man in the costume of a majo 1863 Young Woman Reclining in Spanish Costume 1863
The Luncheon on the Grass 1863

The Luncheon on the Grass 1863
208x265cm oil/canvas
Museum d'Orsay, Paris, France

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From Museum d'Orsay, Paris:
Yet in 'The Luncheon on the Grass', Manet was paying tribute to Europe's artistic heritage, borrowing his subject from the Concert champêtre – a painting by Titian attributed at the time to Giorgione (Louvre) – and taking his inspiration for the composition of the central group from the Marcantonio Raimondi engraving after Raphael's Judgement of Paris.But the classical references were counterbalanced by Manet's boldness. The presence of a nude woman among clothed men is justified neither by mythological nor allegorical precedents. This, and the contemporary dress, rendered the strange and almost unreal scene obscene in the eyes of the public of the day. Manet himself jokingly nicknamed his painting "la partie carrée".