"The 50 Paintings" Project

Painting # 8 

Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe  (The Luncheon on the Grass) by Edouard  Manet

Salon de Paris was a prestigious , official art exhibit of The Academy of Fine Arts in Paris. It was an honor to have ones painting hung at the Salon. 

Remember Amrita Shergill was the only Asian and the youngest to have an entry into the Salon.(Painting # 6)

However the above painting of Edouard Manet was rejected by the Salon for various reasons.....

Obscenity

Too many visible brush strokes

Unfinished look of the painting in the background due to loose brush strokes

The roughly painted background lacked depth

The nude was nowhere near the flawless figures of the historical paintings of that time 

Near photographic realism was expected by the Salon

The style of Painting broke away from the academic traditions of the time

So Manet went ahead and exhibited his painting in the Salon de Refuses (The Salon of Rejects) along with other artists ...

But this rejection was slowly leading towards the biggest art movement "The Impressionism".

Claude Monet the most well known impressionist , who was painting at the same time as Manet ,  was impressed with the loose brush strokes and the raw unblended finish. 

And just like Manet , after 11 years he joined hands with Paul Cezanne, Renoir and others to exhibit their paintings away from the Salon.

This painting of Claude Monet called "Impressions ;Sunrise" was displayed  

and  gave the name of Impressionism to

 the movement and these artists 

came to be known as Impressionists.

Edouard Manet's paintings inspired many works :-

Dejeuner Sur l'herbe by Claude Monet 

La Partie Caree by James Tissot

Le Dejeuner Sur L'herbe by Paul Cezanne  

P.S An impressionist's painting is best viewed with half closed eyes or from far. It helps the mind to blend the brush strokes into a smooth finish and brings the picture to life. 

                 Lots of Love.