Why it matters
A nude woman picnics with two fully dressed men and stares straight at us: rejected by the Salon of 1863, Manet's painting caused a sensation at the Salon des Refusés. He used a huge canvas normally reserved for history and mythology for a modern scene, and left his brushstrokes openly visible.
Did you know?
- Its original title was Le Bain (The Bath).
- It failed to sell at its debut despite the notoriety.
- A smaller, earlier version is in the Courtauld Gallery in London.
Based on the Wikipedia article Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe (CC BY-SA 4.0).
