Le Dejuener Sur L'Herbe by Edouard Manet

The Le Dejuener Sur L'Herbe, or Luncheon the Grass, is a unique and inspiring painting by Edouard Manet, created in 1862. This is an oil painting that mainly portrays a woman sitting in the forest next to two men. The men are dressed in black suits while the woman is nude. It appears as if the nude woman is gazing directly in the audience's direction, looking conscious and aware of what is going on. I am unsure what the woman is doing in the background, but it looks as if she is gathering supplies of some sort. This painting caused a lot of controversy during this time because the public believed it was inappropriate to show a nude woman next to two clothed men. Manet meant for this painting to create a message of controversy because he did not want to create a conventional painting. He wanted to show people an unusual style of art. My favorite part of the Le Dejuener Sur L'Herbe is the way he made the main focus to stand out by painting the background in much darker colors.