Edward Mane.
Title: Breakfast on the grass.
Year of creation: 1866
Canvas, oil.
Original size: 130x181 cm.
The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow.
Description: "In the summer of 1865, after staying in Chailly for five months (as a result of an accident that resulted in a broken leg), Monet began work on preparatory sketches for a huge canvas he had conceived - 6x4.6 m - canvas, in size equal to " Workshop" Courbet, which he called "Breakfast on the Grass" - as a sign of respect for Manet. There were no naked bodies in this picture, only elegant ladies under umbrellas and men in reddingots. The canvas was conceived primarily in order to study the lighting in the forest - in the shade of trees and in a clearing.
This bold undertaking, undertaken by a 25-year-old youth, interested everyone, and Courbet, who at that time lived in Marlotte, visited Monet in Chailly in order to generously help him with advice and encourage his young colleague, whom he always favored. Courbet behaved unexpectedly: he advised the young man to moderate his ardor. As a result, the picture was never completed: either the spirit was not enough, or Monet realized that he was not yet ripe for the implementation of his plan, but he stopped working and never returned to this picture.
This canvas had to go through adventures unheard of in the history of art. Monet, as usual, left the painting on bail to the owner of the Golden Lion Hotel, but he failed to pay the bill in full, despite the subsidies of Aunt Lecadre.
Many years later, he found the canvas in a shed, where it was stored folded, eaten away by dampness. Seeing that the canvas could not be restored, Monet cut off the pieces that were not touched by moisture, and threw the rest away. One of the pieces, having changed many owners, ended up in the hands of a wealthy Lebanese collector: after the war, the experienced merchant Jerome Wildenstein found the other piece in a workshop in Giverny ... and donated it to the Louvre. A noble act and at the same time a successful move by Wildenstein in a dispute with a Lebanese who did not give up his piece of canvas in the hope that, tired of the struggle, Jerome Wildenstein would give him his own. By handing over his canvas to the Louvre, the merchant deprived the Lebanese of his last hope.
One can only regret that Monet did not finish his painting: a large preparatory study, stored in State Museum fine arts them. A.S. Pushkin in Moscow, indicates that this work could become one of the most successful in his work.
Based on the materials of the book by J.-P. Crespel "Daily life of the Impressionists. 1863-1883"./ Per. from fr. E. Puryaeva. - M.: Mol.gvardiya, 1999. - 301s.
Description of the painting by Edward Manet “Breakfast on the Grass”
On May 15, 1863, the "Salon of the Rejected" was opened in Paris by the ruler Napoleon III. The purpose of this event is to protect creativity. The jury, selecting works for the exhibition, severely censored many works and authors. Then Manet offers them his painting "Tomorrow on the Grass". The work was severely criticized, a sea of emotions fell upon the artist and a verdict was passed: the picture is absolutely not suitable for the exhibition. Moreover, the title and image do not fit together at all, which makes the meaning of the picture very ambiguous.
The plot of the picture is somewhat frivolous. Young people are depicted in the clearing, well-dressed, most likely from high society, and next to them are two girls, naked and half-dressed. We do not see "breakfast" in the full sense of the word. Only a basket of mushrooms and berries, which is lying on someone's dress, gives at least some hint of food and a possible meal.
The center of the picture is a couple - a young man and a naked, not young woman, possibly a spouse. The young man listens to his interlocutor with a slight smile on his face, he is calm and relaxed. The woman next to him is just as calm and smiling.
The second man is more emotional. He says something, gesticulating. Obviously, the story is fun and dynamic, because the couple opposite is listening intently, the woman even took a comfortable position, putting her hand under her chin. In the background, a young girl in a light shirt collects something in the grass. But by the tilt of her head and facial expression, one can understand that she hears and listens to what the conversation is about.
Description of the painting by Claude Monet “Breakfast on the Grass”
Monet is one of the best and famous artists who ever worked in the style of impressionism. The pictures painted by him forever changed the vector of development of the European visual arts, made the rarest adjustments to the concept of painting of that time. He prepared his famous "Breakfast on the Grass" as a kind of pictorial manifesto specifically to support the work of the same name by Edouard Manet. She depicted a naked lady surrounded by dressed men, which in 1863 became the reason for a huge scandal in secular society.
Claude Monet began to paint his canvas of the intended size of 6 by 4.6 meters in 1865. To begin with, he retired to the forest of Fontainebleau to draw small sketches and perform studies to prepare the background. From nature, he painted men and women already in the workshop. Among the latter, his own bride Camille Donsier posed for him. The last step was the arrangement of all elements into a single harmonious whole.
Monet's "Breakfast on the Grass" looks extremely bright and romantic. The canvas depicts a picnic in the forest. The day is sunny, but smartly dressed women and men are covered by the shade of dense trees. Through their branches on the grass, faces and clothes of the picnic participants fall individual sun rays. The technique of chiaroscuro turned out to be the main one when writing a picture.
Monet's work was never completely completed. In 1878, he was forced to leave the unfinished painting as a pledge to the owner of the hotel where the artist lived at that time. After many more years, Monet still tried to finish the work. Many sections of the canvas had time to dampen. Because of this, the artist simply cut them out, thereby completely changing the concept of the picture. The remains of the canvas can now be seen in the Louvre Gallery. The sketch is on display at the Pushkin Museum in Moscow.
The whole picture is permeated sunlight and calm, against the backdrop of men dressed in dark, female bodies just radiate light and bliss. The work is striking in its simplicity and bright, but not sharp, colors.
About the picture:
The painting was first exhibited in the famous Salon of the Rejected, which was opened on May 15, 1863 in Paris by Emperor Napoleon III, who wished to be known as a defender of freedom and creativity. Then the jury rejected many works by artists who were not allowed to participate in the exhibition. Edouard Manet offered his "Breakfast on the Grass" for dessert to the "Salon of the Outcasts", which caused a storm of emotions, harshest criticism and the unanimous verdict that this "breakfast" is absolutely "inedible".
The audience was especially outraged by the fact that decently dressed, shod, men with ties and canes gathered in a forest clearing, next to which naked female bodies glowed. The name of the picture takes on some piquant meaning, especially since nothing edible is really depicted. The left corner of the foreground contains a faint hint of food, but it is clearly visible that on a piece of fabric, perhaps someone's dress, there is a half-empty basket with several mushrooms, and several berries are visible on green leaves nearby. That's the whole breakfast.
Two fairly young men are freely spread out on the grass, talking animatedly about something. The one on the right, gesticulating, tells something interesting, funny, because the interlocutor smiles sweetly. An embarrassed smile shines on the face of the woman sitting next to him. Under it is a crumpled light blue fabric, the woman herself sits in a free light pose, completely naked, not too young, a little overweight.
The couple sitting next to each other has the same hair color, they are the same age, possibly spouses. The second woman in a light, loose, white shirt can be seen a little further, but she can hear the conversation, it can be seen from her that she is listening and also smiling. The picture is full of bright peace, warm bliss.
Painting protector:
After harsh criticism at the exhibition, the painting had almost one defender. But what!
Zola wrote:“In the picture you need to see not breakfast on the grass, but the whole landscape with strong and subtle places, a wide and stable foreground and such light and delicate backgrounds. It is solid flesh, modeled by powerful streams of light. A corner of nature conveyed with such truthfulness and simplicity.
Zola became Manet's friend and protector for many years.
The French painter Édouard Manet (1832–1883) played a significant role in the 19th-century European art scene. He developed his own unique style and bridged the gap between the main artistic styles of his time: realism and impressionism. This approach is illustrated by one of his most famous works"Breakfast on the Grass" ("Le déjeuner sur l "herbe").
Before considering this picture, we will try to learn a little about the artist.
Who is Edouard Manet?
1. Edouard Manet, "Self-portrait with a palette" (circa 1878-1879). 2.Photograph of Edouard Manet, 1870 by Felix Nadar
Édouard Manet was born in Paris. The father did not welcome his son's interest in painting. However, his uncle, mother's brother Edmond-Edouard Fournier, supported his nephew's passion: he paid for lectures on painting and took him to museums.
Edward made an attempt to enter a nautical school. At the age of 17, he went on a sailboat for a long training voyage, during which he painted a lot.
After his son returned home in the summer of 1849, his father was convinced of his artistic talent and, finally, supported him in his desire to study painting. But even then, Edouard Manet showed character and independence artistic thinking. Instead of the School of Fine Arts with its strict academic program, he entered the studio of the then fashionable artist Tom Couture. But he soon became disillusioned with his approach, precisely because of Couture's strict adherence to Académie standards.
Édouard Manet became an artist known for his modernist approach to painting. Unlike many of his predecessors, Manet rejected the traditional tastes of the Academy of Fine Arts (Acquémie des Beaux-Arts), the organization responsible for hosting the annual art salons France. Instead of allegorical, historical and mythological scenes, he preferred to depict scenes from everyday life.
The painter considered himself a realist for most of his career. However, after meeting with the Impressionist painters in 1868, he developed his own style, in which he easily mixed heterogeneous approaches.
Five years before meeting the Impressionists, his large-scale oil painting Luncheon on the Grass (1863) already reflected this distinctive attitude towards painting and became the forerunner of Impressionism.
"Breakfast on the grass" is beyond the canons
The situation depicted by the author in the picture seems to be ordinary - men and women had a picnic on fresh air. But something looks completely out of the ordinary. One of the women sits in a close circle with two men, their legs are almost intertwined, while she is completely naked and shamelessly stares at the audience. Nobody in the pictured company is embarrassed. But the audience is not only confused, but outraged.
At that time, only gods and goddesses were allowed to appear naked on works of art. Mythical or allegorical nude figures have been widespread throughout the history of art, but not images of ordinary worldly women in their Everyday life. Édouard Manet broke this taboo. 
The artist did not write on popular then classic themes but inspired by them. The composition "Breakfast on the Grass" directly refers to such works Italian art XVI century as a painting "Concert on outdoors” (“Pastoral Concerto”, “Country Concerto”) by Giorgione and / or Titian and the engraving “The Judgment of Paris” by Marcantonio Raimondi based on the lost original by Raphael Santi. Manet was inspired by the poses of the two gods of the river and the water nymph in the lower right corner of the engraving, as well as the company of naked women and dressed men in the picture.
1. Edouard Manet "Breakfast on the Grass". 2. “Pastoral Concerto”, “Country Concerto”) Giorgione and/or Titian. 3. Engraving by Marcantonio Raimondi "The Judgment of Paris" based on the lost original by Rafael Santi. 3a. Fragment of the engraving "The Judgment of Paris".
The innovation was big size canvas for a painting with a secular theme: 208 × 264.5 cm. Usually a canvas of this size was used for academic paintings with allegorical images or on mythological and historical themes.
Notably, Manet painted in the foreground people he knew. One of the men is the sculptor Ferdinand Leenhoff, and the second is one of the Manet brothers: either Eugene or Gustav. The woman in the foreground of the image is Quiz Louise Meuran, who posed for the no less scandalous Olympia written in the same year and for other paintings by Edouard Manet.
Scandal
Édouard Manet wanted to present his Luncheon on the Grass at the prestigious Paris Salon in 1863. But his work was rejected and not allowed to be exhibited. Then he showed it in the Salon of the Rejected - an exhibition organized by Napoleon III as a reaction to too strict criteria for selecting works for official display.
Spectators and critics did not accept Manet's painting. The scandal broke out not only because the picture shocked the morality of the public. The artist was accused of ignorance and inability to observe the laws of perspective. Indeed, Manet allowed himself to violate the principles of displaying spatial depth and observing proportions: the woman in the background is too large, and the boat is disproportionately small, the river looks like a shallow puddle, and even the winter bullfinch bird sits on a branch right above the summer bather. Bullying, and nothing more.
Nevertheless, the painting "Breakfast on the Grass" became the forerunner of Impressionism, the starting point for the development of art along a new path, free from draconian academic frameworks.
Edward Mane. "Breakfast on the Grass" at the Musée d'Orsay
They challenged bourgeois morality, and he himself came from a prosperous wealthy family, and his father's opinion was very important to him.
He copied the masterpieces of old masters in the Louvre for a long time and was very eager to exhibit in the official Salon, and his works shocked with unusual plots and a free painting style.
Biography. Stormy start
Born in Paris in 1832. Father is a high-ranking official of the Ministry of Justice, mother is the daughter of a prominent diplomat. He was given every opportunity to get an education and start a solid career. But studying at prestigious boarding houses and colleges is not for him. Fifteen-year-old Eduard tries to enter the sailor, fails and goes to sea as a cabin boy to try out the next year. During the voyage, he draws a lot, since then Manet's paintings often contain marine motifs.
He fails his exams again. The father sees his son's work and resigns himself to the fact that he will not be an official or a prosperous bourgeois. Edward becomes a pretty student famous master academic direction of Thomas Couture, studies picturesque classic masterpieces V different cities Europe, spends a lot of time in the Louvre. But the style of Manet's first significant works is not traditional.
First exhibitions
To exhibit at the Paris Salon of Painting means to receive professional recognition. It is visited by up to half a million spectators. The works, selected by a commission specially appointed by the government, guarantee the artist fame, and, consequently, orders and income.
Manet's painting "Absinthe Drinker" (1858-59) was rejected by the jury of the Salon, the realistic theme turned out to be too unusual, the artist handled perspective and halftones too freely - sacred concepts for the academic school.
But in 1861, two paintings by Manet at once - "Portrait of Parents" and "Guitarero" are exhibited at the Salon. The recognition of specialists and lovers of painting was especially important for the artist's father.
"Breakfast on the Grass"
For the Salon of 1863, Manet wrote amazing picture. The composition and plot were inspired by Raphael's Judgment of Paris and Giorgione's Country Concert. At first, the artist called the canvas "Bathing", but then it became known as "Breakfast on the Grass". Manet's painting became an event.
The canvas is quite large, which at that time suggested the use of a battle or multi-figure biblical story. And we see a picnic scene of two men and two women, one of whom, in the background, is swimming in the lake. The men, dressed in evening costumes, are carried away by a conversation among themselves, and do not seem to notice the defiant nakedness of a woman nearby. Her clothes are casually thrown off on the grass, her body is dazzling under the bright frontal light, and there is no escape from her defiant gaze directed at the viewer.
Each viewer saw his "Breakfast on the Grass". Manet's painting is enigmatic. The surrounding landscape is written without perspective and shadows, like scenery in provincial theater. The bather is clearly out of scale with her surroundings. A bird, frozen above those sitting, like a target in a shooting range, looks like a bullfinch, but a bullfinch in summer? Obviously there is some kind of story, but the artist does not try to explain it, leaving the viewer to speculate his own.
The characters of the outrageous picnic had a portrait resemblance to specific people from the environment of the artist: his brother Gustav and brother-in-law Ferdinand Leenhof. The female model also had a name - Quiz Meran, and a specific fame, which was hinted at by a frog in the lower left corner of the picture - a symbol of voluptuousness. The scandal was huge.
Outcast Salon
The jury of the Salon of 1863 was stricter than ever. Manet's paintings were rejected. Less than half of the five thousand submitted works were selected, and the artists complained to the emperor himself. Napoleon III, then ruling, personally examined the rejected paintings and did not find big difference with accepted. He recommended that an alternative exhibition be arranged. The salon of the outcasts was visited by no less spectators than the official one.
Manet's painting became a sensation. They admired her, but the majority scolded her, laughed at her, parodied her, there were not only indifferent ones. This was repeated in 1865 with another masterpiece by Manet.
"Olympia"
Again, the master was inspired by a masterpiece of the past. This time it was Titian's Venus of Urbino. Venus Manet has the body of Quiz Meran, far from ancient proportions. It was she who made the visitors of the Salon resent - faithful spouses and respectable ascetics. I had to put a policeman to protect the canvas from the pricks of umbrellas and spitting.
Venus became known as Olympia. Manet's painting evoked direct associations among contemporaries with the courtesan from Dumas' novel The Lady of the Camellias. Only those who did not think about moral principles were able to immediately appreciate the master's magnificent pictorial skill, the expressiveness of the composition, and the exquisite palette.
Manet Impressionist
Around the artist, a society of those who would become the personification of the brightest artistic movement in painting - impressionism. Edouard Manet is an artist whose paintings were not exhibited at exhibitions along with Degas, Renoir, Cezanne. He considered himself independent of any unions and associations, but he was friends and worked together with other representatives of the style.
And most importantly, he shared their views on painting, when the ability to see and express the finest nuances in nature and in man becomes the main thing for an artist.
The French impressionist took revenge on his abandoned mistress
A meal in the open air is one of the most popular subjects in world painting. He is so May! Especially loved by artists are breakfasts on the grass - a trend set by French Impressionists Edouard MANET and Claude MONET. Recognition did not come to the masters immediately. It was especially difficult for the first one, Edward. But he himself is good: every picture is a scandal and a provocation.
Some naked street girl shamelessly positioned herself between two dandies in ties and urban suits. They look like schoolchildren on vacation, imitating the revelry of adults, and I try in vain to understand what is the meaning of this obscene riddle, one of the critics wrote, when the canvas under the innocent title "Luncheon on the Grass" was first put on public display in 1863 .
Lesbian on the background of a couple of asexuals
Edouard Manet was in a hurry to finish his work for the opening of the Paris Salon. The picture came out very impressive: 2.5 by 2 meters. But the jury turned it down. Together with 3,000 uncensored paintings by other artists, Manet's creation was shown in an exhibition called the Salon of the Rejected. Even in this context, many considered Manet's work a mockery of public morality. The artist seemed to tease the audience with oddities and inconsistencies.
With the illogicality of the picture, the artist said that there are topics much more important than the generally accepted ones - such as sexuality or inequality between men and women. The figure of a naked lady looks too bright. The woman defiantly looks directly at the viewer. At the same time, men do not look either at her or at the viewer, and the absence of sexuality is read in this. There is evidence that Quiz Myoran was gay. Perhaps the artist tried to touch upon the topic of forbidden sexuality condemned by society, the art critic notes. Maria Revyakina.
Interpretation of the theme from Claude MONET (1866). In the role of all the women on the canvas - the bride of the painter Camille DONSIER Cut into pieces
Manet's painting has repeatedly inspired artists of the 19th century and later to create their own pictorial interpretations. In 1865, a friend of Edward, 25 years old Claude Monet, made sketches for the huge picture he had conceived - 6 by 4.6 meters. There was no nudity on it - only elegant ladies under umbrellas and men in redingotes. Claude was interested in studying the lighting in the forest - he painted near Paris.
Leaving for the capital, the artist left his “Breakfast on the Grass” on bail to the owner of the hotel where he lived. And he threw the canvas into the basement, where he almost rotted. Having bought the painting six years later, Monet cut it into pieces, throwing out the moldy fragments.
In 1869 and in 1876 - 1877 he writes his "breakfasts on the grass" Paul Cezanne. Later, the embodiment of a common plot is connected Pablo Picasso- He has a dozen fantasies on the same topic. The topic of breakfasts in nature did not go unnoticed by other, less eminent, authors. True, most of the “masterpieces” that came out from under their brush very vaguely resemble the original source.
LIFE HACK. To remember in which case the names of Manet and Monet are written through "a", and in which through "o", remember the name of the artist. What letter is there, this will be in the surname: Edouard Manet, Claude Monet.
Where to look
- "Breakfast on the Grass" by Edouard Manet is kept in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, and a sketch for it is in the Courtauld Gallery in London.
- The surviving fragments of the creation of Claude Monet can also be seen at the Musée d'Orsay. A smaller version of the picture - in the GMMI them. Pushkin in Moscow.
The most famous remakes of "Breakfast on the Grass"
Inspiration for "Breakfast on the Grass"
In 1863, the artist Édouard Manet painted his masterpiece Luncheon on the Grass. The idea of the picture was formed during the walk. As the artist's friend Antonin Proust recalled, one day, during an exercise along the Argenteuil, Manet saw women bathing. He decided to capture the nude and offer a nude painting. Paris Salon. The artist wanted to depict some kind of "pleasure walk" - either "bathing", or "breakfast on the grass."
Giorgione "Country Concert", 1510. It's about this picture.
Edouard Manet remembered when he conceived his "Breakfast on the Grass"
In search of a suitable background, Manet remembered Giorgione's painting "Country Concert", and he spied the composition itself on the engraving of Marc Raimondi's "The Judgment of Paris". He did not hesitate to “quote” the masterpieces of the old masters, but instead of the “invisible” nymphs and goddesses, he depicted real people busy with their usual activities.
Engraving by Marcantonio Raimondi "The Judgment of Paris", 1513-1514.
Manet called his innovative method fragmentation - the transfer of a classical fragment from his native environment to another - modern. But, as often happens in art, neither critics nor society could appreciate the genius of Manet's idea: the painting was considered obscene and was not allowed to be exhibited at the Salon.
By order of Emperor Napoleon III, she, along with other "non-format" paintings, was placed in a special room, later called the "Salon of the Outcasts." The immoral plot of the picture: two naked women relaxing in nature in the company of men, caused a subsequent wave of imitations.
Pablo Picasso. "Breakfast on the Grass" 1960
For a century and a half, various artists, including famous ones, have interpreted this picture in their own way. Many, naturally, with humour. The Russians were especially distinguished. Compared to the original, their "Breakfasts on the Grass" looks like a caricature.
Wynn Chamberlain. "Breakfast on the Grass" 1964
Fernando Botero. "Breakfast on the Grass" 1969
Benon Libersky. "Breakfast on the Grass" 1984
Yu Mingjun. "Breakfast on the Grass" 1996
Do not be surprised that all the characters in the picture have the same face. This Chinese artist always depicts only himself. By the way, this painting was put up for sale for 1.5 million dollars.
Ivan Lubennikov. "Breakfast on the Grass" 2009
Vasily Shulzhenko. "Breakfast on the Grass"
True, they have one woman for two for some reason. Where the second bather is is not clear. But in the background on the right are some ships of terrible size, aircraft carriers or something on combat duty? Well, the whole country in one picture!
***
Who knows, Manet's painting would now be known if an unforeseen event in the spring of 1863, which opened in the history of world art new era. After all, then, a month before the opening of the next Salon, it became known that the “valiant” jury did not allow about four thousand works to the exhibition. A scandal erupted, in which the emperor himself had to intervene.
"Young Man in a Maho Costume" and "Portrait of Mademoiselle V. in an Espada Costume".
These two paintings by Manet were also exhibited at the Salon of 1863.
Napoleon III made a decision: to open the salon, and two weeks later, in the neighboring halls of the Palace of Industry, hang the paintings rejected by the jury. Let the public watch both exhibitions and draw their own conclusions about what is worthy of its attention and what is not!
Edouard Manet "Music in the Tuileries Garden" 1859. And with this picture he failed to conquer the Salon.
The society was shocked: this happened for the first time! The newspapers wrote
that this exhibition is nothing but a "whim" of His Majesty the Emperor.
Music: David Garrett Air
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Edouard Manet "In the greenhouse" 1879.
