brush painting brilliant artist- Impressionist Claude Monet was painted in oil on canvas, and reached 130 by 181 cm in size. The canvas was created eight years before the famous first exhibition of the Impressionists, shortly after the sensational painting of the same name by the artist Edouard Manet, which brought scandalous fame to its author.
Work on the painting "Luncheon on the Grass" Claude Monet began in 1965 in Giverny, when he saw the presentation of the painting of the same name by Edouard Manet at an exhibition in the Salon. These works have little in common - they only have a landscape background in common, as well as a name, although initially Claude's canvas was called differently.
Over time, it is difficult to establish why the painting by Claude Monet received the same name (probably by analogy with the painting by E. Manet), but earlier it was called "Lunch under the Trees", which was more in line with the composition of the work
Claude Monet painted his picture as if in imitation of his friend and almost namesake (artists were sometimes confused by their contemporaries - Parisians, as they are confused now), whom he, like other future impressionists, considered his teacher.
Preparing to create a canvas.
Monet refrained from depicting nudes human bodies, because it was this factor that caused public outrage in those days. On the contrary, Claude Monet depicted ladies in luxurious summer dresses and men dressed in frock coats. At the same time, the figures of people do not stand out against the background of the landscape, but are its equivalent part.
The artist set himself the task of making human figures part of the landscape, enveloping them with air and light, achieving their merger with nature, so that the picture becomes a particle of the surrounding life.
In the process of writing the canvas, Claude Monet prepared for a long time. So, he carefully chose the landscape, and found - still a suitable clearing in the forest of Fontainebleau. Next, Monet begins work on writing sketches. First he makes numerous sketches forest landscape, and after that he takes up the image of human figures in different positions.
Later, when a huge number of sketches were ready, Claude Monet works all alone in his studio, where he harmoniously fits human figures into the wonderful landscape background of a forest glade in Fontainebleau.
Features of the composition of the picture.
The characters in the composition are people close to the author, his friends are artists, among whom stands out tall figure Frederic Basile, as well as Monet's first wife, Camille. In the construction of the canvas, tribute is paid to classicism: three figures correspond to the wings on the right, and a still life is presented in the center - the essential attributes of a picnic. The spatial perspective is marked by figures going deep into the forest.
The canvas “Luncheon on the Grass” by Claude Monet deserves attention not only due to the peculiarities of the composition, but mainly because the painting is made in a unique artistic technique.
By mixing paints in a special way and skillfully applying them to the canvas, the artist achieved the effect of extreme lightness and airiness of the image. The painter's manner of depicting the sun's rays penetrating through the dense foliage of trees is also unique. Bright glare of the sun yellow and white color flutter on tree trunks. white tablecloth and on people's faces. This determines the artistic style of the future impressionist.
The further fate of the painting by C. Monet "Luncheon on the Grass".
Initially, Claude Monet planned to paint a huge canvas, but working on it turned out to be an impossible task for the artist, especially since he wanted to have time to present it at an exhibition at the Salon of 1866.
Therefore, Monet left the unfinished canvas as payment for rent. Landlord doesn't understand true value and keeps it in a damp basement. As a result, the image on most of the canvas deteriorates.
Six years later, in 1872, Claude Monet redeems his work, and finally completes work on it. The artist restored the lost fragments, and also added some new, interesting details to the canvas.
The canvas is a finished sketch big picture, which Monet cut in a fit of dissatisfaction with himself, which happened to him all the time. Three parts of the canvas have been preserved and are now exhibited in different museums peace.
Of course, the original paintings are priceless and belong to the treasures of world culture. However, in your apartment or country house you can use high-quality reproductions of paintings by great masters.
This will give the design an atmosphere of luxury and refined nobility, and will also help to fully reveal the taste preferences of the owners of the house. In addition, paintings are used in interior design in many styles. It is important to choose the right reproduction of the picture in accordance with other decorative details of the room.
Some art lovers, far from this type of art, confuse two artists - Edouard Manet and Claude Monet and no wonder: after all, they are both French, born in Paris, contemporaries with an age difference of only 8 years (Manet is older), drank, led lively discussions in one cafe "Gerbois" in Montmartre, they painted together in the open air and both stood at the origins of impressionism both of them also painted a painting with the same name - "Breakfast on the Grass". Yes, the names are similar. Here, let's figure it out.
Edouard Manet was born in 1832 in the family of a high-ranking official, his parents predicted for him the future of a lawyer. When Edouard Manet failed the sailor's exams twice, the family had to come to terms with his passion for painting. In 1850, Manet entered the classical painting workshop of Thomas Couture, where he studied for six years. Dissatisfied with the dominance of academicism, Edouard Manet, who was under the strong influence of Velasquez, constantly entered into disputes with his teacher and tried to find new ways of depicting in painting. At the same time, the artist longed for fame and recognition by the official Salon. But his work has been rejected over and over again. In 1859, the Salon does not miss the painting "Absinthe Drinker", in 1863 - the painting "Luncheon on the Grass".
Edouard Manet
The Paris Salon is one of the most prestigious art exhibitions France. It was possible to gain fame and recognition only by passing through the Salon. Any artist could exhibit officially there, but not every artist was allowed to enter: academism and tradition ruled the ball. In 1863 there was a scandal: about three thousand works were not allowed to the exhibition. And then, in order to calm down the indignant artists, Napoleon III announced the opening of an alternative exhibition - the Salon of Les Misérables. The exhibition turned out to be incredibly popular, and the press even began to joke that everyone who entered the official Salon dreamed of being rejected next year. The symbol of the Salon of the Les Misérables in 1963 was the work of Edouard Manet "Breakfast on the Grass".
Edouard Manet Breakfast on the Grass Musee d'Orsay Paris
The picture caused a scandal in society. The canvas depicts two slightly strangely dressed dandies and two young ladies: one completely naked, the other half. Criticism came from all sides. “Indecent”, “absurd”, “indecent” are the epithets that were awarded to the picture. The work aroused delight only in small group young people from the joint-stock company of painters. It is believed that it was Manet's "Breakfast" that gave impetus to the emergence of impressionism. Two years later, Edouard Manet will present to the audience even more scandalous work"Olympia", which will depict a naked contemporary, more like a prostitute waiting for a client, after which the artist will be accused of immorality and pornography. Before Manet, only mythical gods and goddesses could be naked in a painting. Already after the death of Manet, all of France raised money for the purchase of Olympia for the Luxembourg Museum through a subscription organized by Monet.
Edouard Manet Olympia Musee d'Orsay Paris
In the early 60s. 19th century Édouard Manet moved to the Batignolles area in Montmartre. Not far away was the Café Gerbois, where he frequented. Having learned that the author of the scandalous "Breakfast on the Grass" and "Olympia" can be found in "Gerbois", old acquaintances and progressively inclined youth gradually begin to catch up there. Since the cafe grounds were conducive to conversations, the establishment very quickly turned into a place for disputes about contemporary art. Unwittingly, Edouard Manet becomes the ideological leader of the artists and writers of the new formation, whom the press called the Batignolles or "Manet's gang". Among other bohemians, the Manet gang included the writer Emile Zola, the photographer Nadar, the poet Zachary Astruc, the artists Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Camille Pissarro, Paul Cezanne, Alfred Sisley and others. Interesting fact: in 1870, a duel happened in this cafe, a discussion between Manet and Duranty ended with Duranty being wounded. Fortunately, the wound was not serious, and the artists eventually remained in good relations. Unfortunately, the famous cafe no longer exists.
Edouard Manet cannot be called an impressionist. He used impressionistic techniques and techniques, but on the whole he remained a realist, or rather, was a generalist. Manet did not participate in any of the eight impressionist exhibitions, although he became the ideological inspirer and defender of the new trend. As Émile Zola subtly remarked, painting can be divided into "painting before Manet and painting after Manet". Founder and prominent representative Impressionism was Claude Monet, who, together with his friends, developed the basic principles and techniques of working in the open air, introduced a series of works and never changed the chosen style.
Claude Monet
Claude Monet was born in 1840 into a grocer's family and was expected to work in a shop, but he began to gain early fame as a caricaturist on the scale of the town of Le Havre. And after demobilization from the army, Claude Monet enters the painting studio of Charles Gleyre, where he finds new friends: Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley, Frederico Basil, who ten years later, together with other young artists, form Joint-Stock Company painters. In 1874, in the studio of the photographer Nadar, the Joint-Stock Society of Painters opened an exhibition independent of the Salon. The presented works were distinguished by a new look at painting: the plot became secondary, the main attention was paid to colors and the play of light, there were no clear lines, canvases were drawn in strokes, mainly on fresh air. The painting "Breakfast on the Grass" by Claude Monet is just made in a completely new pictorial manner. Small, separately placed strokes of almost pure colors, with which the Impressionists painted their paintings, merged in the eyes of the viewer at a distance, creating in him a feeling of variability, mobility of the depicted - bright and joyful. , they were able to capture the moment "here and now", focusing all attention on the transmission of light and shades of color.
Claude Monet. Breakfast on the grass
The exhibition was organized by Claude Monet. Among other canvases in the studio, his work “Impression. Sunrise". From the title of this painting light hand criticism of Louis Leroy, who visited the exhibition and wrote a caustic article about the "impressed" in the satirical newspaper "Sharivari", the name of the new direction came about. That year, the public laughed at the young artists. Very little time will pass, impressionism will become fashionable and open the way for the development of new trends in the visual arts.
Claude Monet Impression. Sunrise
During his lifetime, Edouard Manet never received due recognition. At the age of 51, his leg was amputated and he died a few days later. Claude Monet outlived his mentor by forty-three years and died at the zenith of his fame.
By the way, the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow has a rich collection impressionist paintings, In particular, there are also paintings by Claude Monet "Breakfast on the Grass", "Rouen Cathedral" (at noon and in the evening) and others, a total of 11 paintings. (http://www.arts-museum.ru/data/people/authors/ 0000_1000/5668_Klod_Mone/index.php) . By the end of his life, the artist almost loses his sight, he is attracted by serial works, he creates the compositions "Hacks", "Rouen Cathedral", "Water Lilies", views of London ... It is these series that allow him to create amazing decorative compositions, as if developing in time and space. In them, he seeks to convey a different degree of illumination of the same objects in different weather, in different times day, using a variety of tonality of their palette.
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
Exhibited in Paris Salon painting means getting 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.
today picture french artist The 19th century Edouard Manet's "Breakfast on the Grass" is considered a masterpiece of impressionism, and in 1863 the canvas became a real shock for the Parisian public. The painting was refused to be exhibited at the Paris Salon, and Manet himself gained a reputation as a reckless rebel.
1. The Parisian creative elite mocked the canvas
Manet tried to exhibit the painting at the Paris Salon in 1863, but the nudity of women among dressed men so stunned critics of the salon organizers that they refused the artist. Thus, Manet's painting was among the 3,000 paintings not allowed to participate in the Paris Salon. For them, Emperor Napoleon III ordered a separate exhibition, called the Salon of the Outcasts. There the public saw Manet's masterpiece.
2. Manet became the sensation of the "Salon of the Rejected"
Artists whose names are familiar today to every connoisseur of art took part in the "Salon of the Outcasts". Among the paintings of such masters as Pizarro, Whistler and Cezanne, Manet's painting made a splash. Thanks to the unconventional representation of nudity, the canvas became the main attraction of the exhibition. But this does not mean at all that the picture was to the taste of the audience. It is said that men escorted their wives past the canvas as quickly as possible, and then returned back to stare for themselves. In critics, Manet's work caused ridicule and outrage.
3. The context of the painting caused controversy
It is worth noting that nude women in paintings became the subject of classical art long before Manet, but goddesses were usually depicted naked. In Manet's "Breakfast on the Grass" main character was not a goddess at all. In the foreground, a naked woman is visible, and next to her are two engaged in conversation. People in modern attire emphasize Manet's intention to show real people And real events. Critics were also outraged by the fact that the woman in the foreground "shamelessly looks at the audience, not at all embarrassed by her nakedness."
4. Manet originally called the painting Le bain (The Bath)
Manet originally titled his painting "The Bath", probably to give a "softer" explanation for female nudity. But when the painting caused a stir with its explicit sexuality, the artists jokingly nicknamed it "a picnic for four." It was the second name, although slightly changed, that stuck.
5. Reference to Raphael
In 1515, the Renaissance artist Raphael created the painting "The Judgment of Paris". More than 300 years later, Manet, inspired by the work of Raphael, depicted a naked woman and men in poses identical to the seated group in the lower right corner of the Judgment of Paris.
6. The concept of the painting was also borrowed from the Renaissance
The combination of dressed men and naked women caused quite a stir in Paris, but it was by no means new topic. In 1510, the painting "Country Concert" was painted (which was previously considered a painting by Giorgione, but now art historians suggest that this is the work of the early Titian). It depicted a similar scene.
7 Dressed Men Are Manet's Relatives
One of them is his brother Eugene Manet. And the other is the future brother-in-law, the Dutch sculptor Ferdinand Leenhoff.
8. The nude woman is Manet's favorite model.
Nude woman in Manet's painting by Quiz-Louise Meuran. She was a popular muse for the Parisian painters of the late 1800s. Quiz was given the nickname "Shrimp" due to her petite build, pink face, and red hair. She posed for Manet not only for "Breakfast on the Grass", but also for other canvases: "Portrait of Quiz Meuran", "Street Singer", "Mademoiselle. Quiz dressed as a matador", "Olympia", "Woman with a parrot", "Guitarist" and "Railroad".
9. Manet and Meuran shocked the audience with another picture - "Olympia"
In the same year, the artist painted another painting with a naked woman, for which Myoran again posed. It depicts a red-haired reclining lady lying on a white pillow. At the Paris Salon in 1865, the painting caused one of the most big scandals in the history of art, because main character was completely far from the classic nude goddesses, but demonstrated the sexuality of an ordinary woman.
10 Nude Paintings By Manet Damaged Myoran's Reputation
Due to the frankness of the paintings, many assumed that Manet and Meuran were lovers, but this was just the tip of the gossip iceberg. The popular interpretation of "Breakfast on the Grass" and "Olympia" suggested that these impudent naked women should be free-spirited ladies. This was fueled by rumors that Myoran was a prostitute and liked to drink. In fact, she lived to be 83 years old and achieved recognition.
11. Myoran later became an artist herself
In 1876, Meurant submitted a self-portrait to the Paris Salon for the first time, but was refused. She then exhibited her paintings in this prestigious venue in 1879, 1885 and 1904, and in 1903 Meuran was included in the respected Society of French Artists. Unfortunately, only one of her paintings has survived - "Palm Sunday", which was discovered in 2004 and is now in historical museum Colombe.
12. "Breakfast on the grass" is more than usually suggested.
15. These works made Manet the father of impressionism
In "Lunch on the Grass" not only cultural elements from different times collided. Manet also rejected the rules of proportion, most notably in the woman in the background bathing in a river. She is disproportionately large compared to the men in front of her. Over time, Manet's rebellious style has inspired many artists such as James Tissot, Claude Monet, Paul Cezanne and Pablo Picasso.
In "Breakfast on the Grass" Manet not only portrayed the naked female body, he showed that his presence among men is common. The woman here is part of the meal
When Édouard Manet completed his famous Luncheon on the Grass in 1863, the painting caused a scandal. At the annual Paris Salon, she became the subject of universal condemnation. “Some naked street girl,” wrote the critic Louis Etienne, “shamelessly nestled 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. Many paintings rejected by the jury were exhibited at the Salon, and Emperor Napoleon III, himself a lover of painting, supported the idea of organizing a Salon of the Rejected, where artists whose paintings were not appreciated could exhibit their works. “Breakfast” was also exhibited there. But when he saw the painting by Manet, Napoleon III turned away in disgust. “A crazy work,” said Emile Zola, a friend of Manet, about the painting, “absurd and indecent. "Breakfast" not only generates laughter, it generates rage." Probably, the outrageous Manet needed this.
 The brightly lit naked body is also a mockery of public morality, personified by the father figure for Edward: Auguste Manet was a judge and considered cases of violation of the rules public morality. The saleswoman of the haberdashery store Quiz Myoran posed for Manet. They met in 1862. Soon the acquaintance grew into a passionate romance. Myoran drew well herself. |
 Critics called Quiz's facial expression somnambulistic. And this is true to some extent. Manet painted the head of the model after their romance ended. Manet's father died. Probably, a certain ban was lifted by this, and Eduard marries his music teacher Suzanne Lenkhov. It turned out that they had a long-standing relationship and even have a child - a teenage son depicted by Manet in the painting "Flutist". The quiz was very painfully worried about the end of the affair with the artist, and this could not but be reflected on her face. |
 The X-ray of "Breakfast" shows how much his expression changed while working with Manet. Edward's models were his brother Gustave... |
 And the brother of Manet's bride is Ferdinand Lenkhov. All of them, like Quiz, were depicted in portraiture and were easily recognized by visitors to the exhibition. Here, too, there was a scandal: the brother of the bride, Edward, posed in the same picture with Manet's mistress! |
| Manet himself claimed that the picture was painted in the open air, but several inconsistencies are visible on the canvas, betraying its staging. So, the tailcoat in which Gustave Manet is depicted looks unnatural. It would never have occurred to anyone to go out into nature in this. It seems that Manet simply mocked the public. This is evidenced by the size of the picture. They are suitable for epic stories and not for pastorals with a mistress. |
 Forest on background also careless and reminiscent of a theatrical scenery. |
 The girl in the background is disproportionately large. Thus, Manet creates the effect of an incorrect perspective: it is not clear where the beginning, center and background of the picture are. The picture is defiantly compositionally absurd. |
 The frog at the bottom of the picture is usually taken by art historians as a hint of the morality of Quiz Myoran: prostitutes were called frogs. |
 Cherries that have fallen out of the basket can also be interpreted (a symbol of voluptuousness) |
 Perhaps this is another absurdity, like a bullfinch in the branches of trees (there are no bullfinches in France in summer) |
