Le Dejeuner sur l’herbe (The Luncheon on the Grass) is a large oil on canvas painting created by Édouard Manet in 1862 and 1863. The painting consists of two women who are nude and nearly nude and two men who are fully dressed in a beautiful, almost ethereal, setting. This painting is housed in the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. Just based off of the depiction of the women and men in the painting, I could tell that controversy would follow. It is said that Manet intentionally chose the size of the painting, which measures 81.9 x 104.1 inches. Such large canvases were usually reserved for historical, mythological, and religious figures. The painting was created to challenge the feminine vs the masculine, the clothed vs the naked, and the social difference between men and women during those times, which I still believe heavily applies today in the way that men and women are viewed in society. I applaud Manet’s deeper meaning in the painting and the messages that he hides behind them.
Ashanti: Could you explore these assertions more fully: “The painting was created to challenge the feminine vs the masculine, the clothed vs the naked, and the social difference between men and women during those times.” How does the painting challenge these notions?