“Luncheon on the Grass” (French “Le déjeuner sur l’herbe”), originally titled Le Bain (The Bath) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Out of all the works they showed in “The Impressionists” there’s two that reached out and grabbed my attention. First was Manet’s “Olympia” and second was Manet’s other work “Luncheon on the Grass.” Yes they’re both by Manet but they were the ones in the movie that really spoke to me. Not only did Manet have the courage to leave his art teacher and strike it on his own, he later made these two masterpieces – which at the time were considered absurd due to the fact that they were representing the authentic side of French lifestyles instead of heavenly depictions of what life should be – and displayed them at gallery’s where they were either discarded or mocked. Despite all the mockery and insults Manet continued to produce works of art and display them at the gallery. It’s because of all the rebellion and self-sacrifice behind these paintings why I enjoyed seeing them so much in the movie. It’s also why they grabbed my attention more than any of the others.
What is art? 