Essay: Female Gaze in Manet’s Luncheon in the Grass

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Sample Essay – Luncheon in the Grass

Words 981

Manet’s Déjeuner sur l’Herbe or Luncheon on the Grass (1863) is considered to be his masterpiece by many, although it shocked the society at that time and even today is considered to be controversial piece of art.

The painting is quite large considering that traditionally this size of canvas was used for more special paintings. It shows a nude woman enjoying lunch with two fully clothed men, while there is another woman in the background bathing.  Nudes had not been painted in this style before where the nude woman appears in a form which is completely different from the classical style of Renaissance. It is believed that Manet was inspired by Raphael’s engraving, Judgement of Paris.

Luncheon in the Grass

This painting drew much criticism because a nude was only considered normal in mythological or historical settings and usually did not look back directly at the viewer. The naked woman was considered especially provocative because of her casual position. Generally, the painting was regarded with contempt because of the unnerving intimacy of the people in the painting.

The two women were his wife and favorite model, while the men were his friend and brother. There is brazenness, with strewn clothes and fruit basket, which was unacceptable then.

When one considers the style of the paintings it seems almost incomplete.  The background is painted with rough strokes, and flawless finished look is missing from the painting.

And it is important to note that though it appears to be a scene from a park, however a shallow background along with relatively stark lightening with almost no shadows indicates that in fact the group are sitting in an artist’s studio.

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