{"id":1487,"date":"2026-05-20T22:32:29","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T20:32:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/horscadre.paris\/luncheon-on-the-grass-the-painting-that-made-everything-possible\/"},"modified":"2026-08-24T22:43:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T20:43:19","slug":"luncheon-on-the-grass-the-painting-that-made-everything-possible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/horscadre.paris\/en\/luncheon-on-the-grass-the-painting-that-made-everything-possible\/","title":{"rendered":"“Luncheon on the Grass” \u2014 the painting that made everything possible"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Paris, Friday, May 15, 1863, Palais de l’Industrie on the Champs-\u00c9lys\u00e9es.<\/strong> Today marks the opening of the Salon des Refus\u00e9s<\/strong>, established by Napoleon III a month earlier in response to discontent among the Parisian art world over the 3,000 works rejected<\/strong> by the jury of the official Salon. Twelve annex rooms have been set up, and 1,200 works are on display there<\/strong>. In the room where the paintingsof \u00c9douard Manet<\/strong>\u2014a thirty-one-year-old, elegant bourgeois painter already known for his staid Spanish subjects\u2014are hung, a crowd gathers. <\/p>\n\n

Standing in front of a single painting.<\/p>\n\n

A young, naked woman sits on the grass between two men in contemporary suits. She looks directly at the viewer, unabashed. At her feet lies an overturned basket of fruit. Behind her, a third woman, wearing a white shirt, leans over a river. The official title listed in the program is The Bath<\/em><\/strong>. But it would soon come to be known as\u2014and Manet himself would contribute to this\u2014 Le D\u00e9jeuner sur l\u2019herbe<\/em><\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n

The scandal erupts immediately. People laugh. They shout. They hurl insults. The crowd shuttles back and forth between this painting and another Salon\u2014the official one\u2014in the next room. Within a few days, *Luncheon on the Grass*<\/em> becomes the Parisian event of the year<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n

Manet doesn’t know it yet, but he has just transformed the entire history of Western painting<\/strong>. Without this painting, exhibited on May 15, 1863, there would have been no Impressionism as we know it, no Fauvism, and no Cubism as Picasso would invent it forty years later. *Luncheon on the Grass*<\/em> is, as the now-famous saying goes, the painting that made everything possible<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n

This article traces the genesis of the work, its hidden sources (Titian and Raphael, whom Manet explicitly cites), the precise circumstances of the scandal it provoked, and the extraordinary legacy it has generated\u2014including the twenty-seven variations<\/strong> Picasso painted on this same motif between 1959 and 1962.<\/p>\n\n

Before 1863 \u2014 The Beginnings in Gennevilliers<\/h2>\n\n

The origins of the painting date back tothe summer of 1862<\/strong>, according to the accountof Antonin Proust<\/strong> (1832\u20131905)\u2014a childhood friend of Manet\u2019s who went on to become an art critic and later Minister of Fine Arts, and who authored a memoir published in 1897.<\/p>\n\n

Proust recounts a boat ride with Manet on the Seine, nearArgenteuil-Gennevilliers<\/strong>. The painter was watching women bathers emerging from the water<\/strong>. He turned to Proust and said, according to the account: \u201cIt seems I have to paint a nude. Well, I\u2019ll paint one of them. Back when we were in the studio, I copied Giorgione\u2019s women\u2014the women with musicians. That painting is dark. The backgrounds have receded. I want to redo it and capture the transparency of the atmosphere.\u201d<\/em> <\/p>\n\n

The work Manet is referring to is *The Country Concert*<\/em><\/strong> (c. 1509, Mus\u00e9e du Louvre<\/strong>), then attributed to Giorgione<\/strong> but now generally attributed to Titian<\/strong>. Manet copied this painting in 1856\u20131858 during his years of study at the Louvre. Two men dressed in 16th-century Venetian costumes and two nude women in a pastoral landscape. This would serve as the secret inspiration<\/strong> for *Luncheon on the Grass<\/em>*. <\/p>\n\n

Manet worked on the composition during the winter of 1862\u20131863<\/strong> in his studio on Rue Guyot<\/strong> (now Rue M\u00e9d\u00e9ric, in the 17th arrondissement). He chose his models from his immediate circle: his muse, Victorine Meurent, and two male relatives. The painting was completed in early 1863. Manet submitted it to the official Salon<\/strong> along with two other works: *Mademoiselle V. in an Espada Costume<\/em> * and *Young Man in a Majo Costume<\/em>*. The jury rejected all three. <\/p>\n\n

The painting\u2019s fate took a dramatic turn when Napoleon III<\/strong>, while visiting the Salon\u2019s studio on April 22, 1863<\/strong>, discovered the extent of the rejections. He immediately decreed a parallel Salon<\/strong> reserved for the rejected works. Manet\u2019s *The Bath*<\/em> would be one of the three thousand<\/strong> works eligible for re-entry. Manet submitted five works, including *The Bath*<\/em> \u2014which would become the center of attention. <\/p>\n\n

The Painting \u2014 What It Depicts<\/h2>\n\n

*Luncheon on the Grass*<\/em> is an oil on canvas<\/strong> measuring 208 centimeters high by 264.5 centimeters wide<\/strong> \u2014or 2 meters by 2.65 meters<\/strong>. A monumental<\/strong> format, comparable to the grand historical masterpieces of the Salon. Manet presents his contemporary subject on the same scale as the Romans of the Decadence<\/em> by his former master, Couture. Signed \u201cManet\u201d<\/strong> in the lower left corner. <\/p>\n\n

The composition is built around three figures in the foreground<\/strong> and a fourth figure in the background<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n

In the center, sitting on the grass<\/strong>: a young woman, completely naked<\/strong>. Her body is smooth, white, without pronounced contours. No shadows lend her flesh the traditional sense of depth. She is seated on the ground, her legs drawn to the side, her left arm folded beneath her chin. She looks directly at the viewer<\/strong>. No modesty. No smile. No conventional seduction. A gaze that is simply present, as if she were expecting to be seen. <\/p>\n\n

On the right, half-reclining, dressed in contemporary attire<\/strong>: a young, bearded man in light-colored pants and a dark jacket, wearing a felt hat<\/strong>. He is making an explanatory gesture with his right hand<\/strong> \u2014as if he were talking with his companions. His gaze is lost in the distance. <\/p>\n\n

On the left, sitting on the grass<\/strong>: another young man, also dressed as a Parisian bourgeois of the 1860s\u2014dark suit, tie, vest, and a flat hat perched on the back of his head. He is leaning on his right arm, looking at the nude young woman<\/strong> as if he were continuing a conversation with her. <\/p>\n\n

In the background, in the river<\/strong>: a second woman<\/strong>, half-clad in a white shirt, is<\/strong> either bathing<\/strong> or drying her feet<\/strong> \u2014the pose is ambiguous. She appears strangely out of proportion<\/strong> with the foreground: too tall for the perspective. <\/p>\n\n

On the floor in the foreground<\/strong>: an overturned wicker basket<\/strong>, scattered fruit<\/strong> (cherries, figs), an uncorked bottle<\/strong>, and bread<\/strong>. The young woman\u2019s clothes<\/strong> \u2014a blue dress, a headscarf, and shoes\u2014are strewn about in disarray. <\/p>\n\n

Above<\/strong>: a large tree, foliage, a clear sky. The landscape is rendered using a decidedly modern palette<\/strong>: cool, dark greens, blue shadows, and diffused light reminiscent of a French forest undergrowth\u2014not the golden Italian light of Titian. <\/p>\n\n

It is this shift\u2014 the conventions of Renaissance mythological nudity transposed into a contemporary Parisian setting in 1863<\/strong> \u2014that caused the scandal.<\/p>\n\n

Hidden Sources \u2014 Titian and Raphael<\/h2>\n\n

Manet makes no secret of his sources. On the contrary: he openly acknowledges them. According to the official entry for the Mus\u00e9e d’Orsay<\/strong>, two works from the Louvre provide the two essential compositional elements<\/strong> of *Luncheon on the Grass*<\/em>: <\/p>\n\n

Source 1 \u2014 Titian\u2019s *Concert Champ\u00eatre*<\/strong> (c. 1509, Louvre Museum, then attributed to Giorgione) This Venetian painting from the early Cinquecento depicts two men dressed in Renaissance costumes and two nude women in a pastoral landscape. This is the source of the general theme<\/strong> of *Luncheon on the Grass*<\/em>: the juxtaposition of clothed male figures and nude female figures<\/strong> in a natural setting. Manet had been familiar with it since his student years at the Louvre\u2014he copied it around 1856\u20131858. <\/p>\n\n

Source 2 \u2014 *The Judgment of Paris* after Raphael<\/strong>, engraving by Marcantonio Raimondi<\/strong> (c. 1515, Louvre Museum). From this Renaissance engraving, Manet borrows the exact arrangement<\/strong> of the three figures in his central group. In Raimondi\u2019s engraving, three river deities are arranged exactly as Victorine and the two Manet brothers are on the canvas: a seated central figure flanked by two male figures, one leaning to the left, the other gesturing to the right. Manet meticulously reproduces<\/strong> this composition, simply transposing the ancient gods into Parisian bourgeois figures. <\/p>\n\n

This dual reference<\/strong> is essential to understanding Manet\u2019s boldness. He does not subvert<\/strong> the pictorial tradition\u2014he transposes<\/strong> it. He does not say, \u201cClassical painting is dead\u201d; he says, \u201cClassical painting can be infused with contemporary subjects.\u201d This strategy of allusion<\/strong> would be taken up by all the modern artists who followed him, right up to Picasso, who painted *Les Demoiselles d\u2019Avignon*<\/em> in 1907, directly referencing El Greco and C\u00e9zanne. <\/p>\n\n

The Mus\u00e9e d’Orsay fact sheet summarizes how it works:<\/p>\n\n

\u201cIn *Luncheon on the Grass*, Manet claims the legacy of the old masters. But the presence of a nude woman among clothed men is not justified by any mythological or allegorical pretext. The modernity of the figures makes this almost surreal scene seem obscene in the eyes of his contemporaries.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n

That is exactly how a scandal works: the norm becomes a transgression as soon as its context changes<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n

The Models \u2014 Victorine, the Manet Brothers<\/h2>\n\n

The identification of the three main models in *Luncheon on the Grass*<\/em> has now been extensively documented by Manet\u2019s biographers.<\/p>\n\n

The Nude Woman<\/strong>: Victorine-Louise Meurent<\/strong> (1844\u20131927), eighteen years old at the time of the sitting in 1862\u20131863. A professional model whom Manet had met the previous year in Thomas Couture\u2019s studio, she would become his principal muse<\/strong> for eleven years (1862\u20131873). She appears in nearly all of Manet\u2019s major works from the 1860s\u2014 *Mademoiselle V. in an Espada Costume*<\/em> (1862), *Olympia*<\/em> (1863), *The Street Singer*<\/em> (1862), The Railroad<\/em> (1872\u20131873). Victorine was herself an amateur painter<\/strong>; she would later exhibit her own paintings at the Salon, notably in 1876\u2014the year Manet was rejected. A historical irony: the nude woman in *Luncheon on the Grass*<\/em> would be exhibited at the official Salon as a signed artist<\/strong> thirteen years after having been the subject of the Salon des Refus\u00e9s scandal. <\/p>\n\n

The man on the right, making the gesture<\/strong>: according to most sources, this is Eug\u00e8ne Manet<\/strong> (1833\u20131892), the painter\u2019s younger brother and Berthe Morisot<\/strong> \u2019s future husband in 1874. Other biographical sources (notably Tabarant 1947) identify this figure as Ferdinand Leenhoff<\/strong> (1841\u20131914), the brother of Suzanne Leenhoff (Manet\u2019s partner and later wife in 1863) and thus the painter\u2019s brother-in-law. Uncertainty persists<\/strong> in the scholarly literature. <\/p>\n\n

The man on the left, lying down and looking at Victorine<\/strong>: according to the same sources, this is Gustave Manet<\/strong> (1835\u20131884), the youngest of the siblings, who<\/strong> would go on to become a lawyer and a radical politician. Other sources identify this figure as Ferdinand Leenhoff<\/strong> \u2014hence the frequent confusion between the two male figures. <\/p>\n\n

The woman in the river in the background<\/strong>: no model has been identified. She is likely a figure Manet reconstructed from a model in his studio. <\/p>\n\n

May 15, 1863 \u2014 the scandal<\/h2>\n\n

The Salon des Refus\u00e9s opened on Friday, May 15, 1863<\/strong>, at the Palais de l’Industrie<\/strong> (now demolished; it was replaced by the Petit and Grand Palais in 1900) on the Champs-\u00c9lys\u00e9es. Admission was free<\/strong>. During the first few weeks, thousands of Parisians<\/strong> flocked to the exhibition\u2014far more than at the official Salon next door. Manet was the main attraction. <\/p>\n\n

The Parisian press went wild. Louis \u00c9tienne<\/strong>, an art critic, wrote in *Le Pays*<\/em> in June 1863:<\/p>\n\n

\u201cAn ordinary young man, dressed in everyday clothes, is sitting on the grass next to a completely naked woman who is drying off in the open air. This repulsive juxtaposition has everything it takes to draw a crowd and make them burst out laughing.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n

\u2014 Louis \u00c9tienne, \u201cThe Jury and the Exhibitors,\u201d<\/em> *Le Pays*, June 1863*<\/p>\n\n

The article is representative of the prevailing tone<\/strong> of the criticism. *L’Illustration*<\/em>, *La Gazette de France*<\/em>, *Le Petit Journal*<\/em>, *Le Constitutionnel*<\/em> \u2014all of them launch attacks. They speak of\u201cindecency<\/strong>, \u201d \u201cbad taste<\/strong>, \u201d<\/strong> and \u201ca pimp\u2019s farce.\u201d<\/strong> Cartoonists in the satirical press (notably Cham<\/strong> in *Le Charivari*<\/em>) churned out mocking drawings: they depicted the nude woman offering a sandwich to her companions, or the men turning their backs on the \u201cbather.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

Only a few voices timidly defended Manet: Th\u00e9ophile Thor\u00e9<\/strong> (alias W. B\u00fcrger) in *L’Ind\u00e9pendance belge*<\/em>, Zacharie Astruc<\/strong> in his journal *Le Salon*<\/em>, and Th\u00e9ophile Gautier<\/strong> \u2014although these defenses were still measured in 1863. The major defense would come three years later, in May 1866, penned by\u00c9mile Zola<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n

Manet took the scandal hard. He wrote to Charles Baudelaire that he felt \u201cinsulted\u201d<\/em> and \u201cdragged through the mud.\u201d<\/em> He believed\u2014perhaps naively\u2014that his painting would be received as a scholarly homage to the pictorial tradition, in the vein of Titian\u2019s *Concert Champ\u00eatre*. On the contrary, it sparked what he would later call a \u201criot.\u201d<\/em> His mother and his brother Eug\u00e8ne urged him to leave Paris for a few months to escape the ridicule. <\/p>\n\n

But Manet did not run away. He continued to paint<\/strong>. That same year, 1863, he had already completed *Olympia*<\/em><\/strong> \u2014which he kept in his studio for two years before exhibiting it at the official Salon of 1865, sparking an even more intense scandal<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n

Why exactly is this causing a scandal?<\/h2>\n\n

We need to take a closer look at the exact nature<\/strong> of the scandal. Because what shocked Parisians in 1863 about *Luncheon on the Grass*<\/em> is not what one might assume today<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n

What is NOT the scandal<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n