Monet and his version of the painting Luncheon on the Grass

Luncheon on the Grass

Stories Behind the Works of Art

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Luncheon on the Grass (1865/66). Claude Monet

 

The story of this work of art started in 1863 in the Salon des Refusés (Salon of the
Refused), which was an official exhibition of the works of art rejected by the Salon of
Paris, the annual exhibition organized by the French Academy. It was a decisive moment
for the birth of Impressionism. It was such an important time for modern painting that it
is considered by many to be the beginning of modernity in art.

Édouard Manet exhibited Luncheon on the Grass in the Salon des Refusés. The young
artists who would initiate the Impressionist movement were both shocked and moved by
this revolutionary work: the loose brushstroke that makes the figures look unfinished but
more alive, the more natural treatment of light, and a scandalous break with the
teachings of the academic tradition: the artist does not paint “as he is taught” but paints
what is real, what he experiences personally, what is “alive” (we always exemplify this
point by saying, “he does not paint a nude; he paints a naked woman.”)

The painting, which inspired Impressionism, actually caused a great scandal and was the
mockery of critics and the public.

That is why the young Monet decided, two years later, to make a huge, monumental
version of his own, defending and honoring Manet. The idea was to present it the
following year, 1866, at the very Salon des Refusés.

But the work was too large (4.6 m x more than 6 m). Finishing it became more and more
difficult (even in terms of cost, as Monet had no money at the time). So he abandoned
it, and later, when he was not able to pay the rent, he left the canvas as a pledge to the
owner, who rolled it up and stashed it in his cellar.

By the time Monet could afford to get it back, the canvas had become moldy. It was
1884.

As the canvas was in poor condition, Monet cut it into three parts. One of these parts
has been lost. The one we have chosen is the central part. This one and the left part are
in the Musée d’Orsay, Paris, although there are also studies of the work today in the
Pushkin Museum in Moscow and in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

A curiosity: nine years before the first impressionist exhibition, we can observe how
Monet already gave this work the Impressionist touch of painting the shadows with color.

 

Recommended links:

Monet’s path to Impressionism.

Salon des Refusés of 1863.

When does Modern Art Start?

The First Impressionist Exhibition (1874).

Fundamental Painters of Impressionism.

Characteristic Elements of Impressionist Painting.

When does Modern Art Start?

The First Series of Monet.

The Last Paintings of Monet: a Touch of Expressionism?

Stories behind the Works of Art: Monet and the Rouen Cathedral.

The Poplars by Monet.

You can also find more material using the search engine.

 

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