The Luncheon on the Grass

We have another scandalous painting here. The Luncheon was rejected by the Salon jury of 1863, but Manet wasn’t deterred and exhibited this piece with two other paintings in his own Salon des Refusés. Actually it was no surprise that the Salon, the most prestigious and traditional exhibit place in France, would reject the painting. First, this scene was painted on a huge canvas generally reserved for historical and religious subjects. In deliberate subversion, Manet depicted two fully dressed men and one fully naked women, perhaps a prostitute looking out at the viewer. Little else could be more provocative at the time. This is an example of how artists started to employ the power of scandal near the end of 16th century.