Claude Monet · two lunches, two revolutions
Monet's Luncheon: two paintings, a modern revolution
A family table in an interior, a monumental picnic under the trees: behind an almost identical title hide two distinct ambitions. Here's how to recognize them, read them and understand why Monet transforms the ordinary meal into a laboratory of modern painting.
A daily scene brought to the format of history painting.
The starting point
Before any analysis, do not confuse the two Lunches
"Le Déjeuner de Monet" can designate several works. The most frequent confusion opposes Lunch on the Grass, vast enterprise begun in 1865, in Lunch, painted in 1868 -1869 and kept at the Städel Museum in Frankfurt. The two paintings feature relatives, contemporary clothing and a meal. However, they have neither the same space, nor the same story, nor the same destiny.
The first takes place in the Fontainebleau forest, in Chailly-en-Bière. Monet wants to bring together life-size figures, modern fashion and sun effects filtering through the leaves. The project was to exceed four meters by six and compete with the great compositions of the Salon. It was abandoned before the 1866 exhibition and then damaged after serving as a guarantee for an owner. Two large fragments are now kept at the Musée d'Orsay, then damaged after serving as a guarantee for an owner. It is abandoned before the 1866 exhibition, then damaged after serving as a guarantee for an owner. Two large fragments are now kept at the Musée d'Orsay; a very accomplished sketch can be found at the Pushkin Museum in Moscow.
The second takes us into an interior. Around a table still loaded with dishes, Monet represents his family, a guest and a servant. The subject belongs to private life, but the canvas measures 231.5 × 151.5 cm: a spectacular dimension for a domestic scene. Refused by the Salon in 1870, it is shown four years later during the first impressionist exhibition. The meal is finished or interrupted; painting begins to challenge the hierarchy of genres.
Lunch on the Grass
A monumental manifesto designed for the Salon: contemporary figures, forest, white tablecloth and fragmented light. The original painting only remains in fragments.
Lunch
A private stage elevated to the rank of a large public painting. The table and its objects occupy almost as much attention as the characters.
| Work | Place represented | Ambition | Destiny |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lunch on the Grass | Fontainebleau Forest | Bringing together the outdoors and life-size figures for the Salon of 1866 | Abandoned project, canvas damaged then cut; two fragments in Orsay |
| Lunch | Family interior | Give the monumentality of history painting on a daily basis | Refused at the Salon of 1870, presented at the Impressionist exhibition of 1874 |
1865 · Chailly-en-Bière
Reply to Manet without copying him
Two years before Monet, Édouard Manet had shaken up Paris with his Lunch on the grass. Rejected by the Salon of 1863 and presented at the Salon des Refusés under the title The bath, the work combined a naked woman and dressed men in a landscape whose perspective and contrasts confused the audience. Monet takes up the title, but shifts the challenge. He is not looking for the same iconographic scandal: his walkers are dressed, identifiable and integrated into a part of the countryside.
His ambition is first pictorial. How to paint life-size figures in unstable light? How to maintain the freshness of a study carried out outside when the composition becomes immense? Monet prepares his painting through studies on nature, then constructs a very precise sketch in the workshop. Frédéric Bazille poses for several male figures; Camille Doncieux, Monet's future wife, also appears in this modern society.
The Musée d'Orsay describes the project as a tribute as well as a challenge to Manet. But the size chosen makes the undertaking difficult and expensive. Shadows must pass through dresses and jackets without dissolving the volumes; the greens of the forest must remain luminous; the tablecloth must guide the eye without becoming an empty surface. In 1866, Monet understood that he would not finish in time and abandoned the large canvas.
A work that has become an archipelago
Fragments, sketch and memory of an impossible painting
The material destiny of Lunch on the grass today contributes to his fascination. Due to lack of money, Monet gives the large canvas as a guarantee to its owner. Rolled in a cellar, it suffers from humidity. When he recovered it in 1884, he cut it out and kept only three pieces; the third has disappeared. The two fragments of the Musée d'Orsay therefore do not reconstruct a complete composition. They are the survivors of a project whose original scale is measured above all by what is missing.
This story invites us to look at each reproduction differently. The vertical fragment emphasizes the figures, their clothing and the vibration of the greens. The other piece retains part of the conversation under the trees. The sketch of Moscow, of a more manageable format, restores the general organization: around the light tablecloth, the bodies draw an open circle, as if worldly society allowed itself to be temporarily absorbed by the forest.
However, it would be misleading to present failure as simple defeat. The work accomplished prepares Women in the garden, painted almost immediately, and nourished Monet's research into the changing effects of light. The very difficulty of the project teaches him that an immediate sensation resists very large dimensions when it must be slowly reconstructed in the workshop. Later, Monet will find other solutions: work in series, return to the motif and make atmospheric time the real driving force of the work.
1868 -1869 · Le Déjeuner du Städel
Privacy takes on the dimensions of history
In Lunch, the great outdoors disappears, but the ambition remains intact. The canvas shows a family room after or during the meal. Jean, Monet's young son, is in the foreground; Camille is present, as well as a guest and a servant. Nothing comes down to mythology, battle or official ceremony. However, the height of more than two meters imposes this scene in the museum space.
The Städel Museum highlights the rupture produced by this choice. Genre scenes and still lifes traditionally occupied a lower place in the academic hierarchy and were often presented in small formats. Monet combines the two here: the table loaded with bread, crockery, fruit and glasses almost forms an autonomous still life, while the characters tell of a family intimacy. Daily life thus obtains the visual prestige formerly reserved for history painting.
The composition does not yet resemble the freest impressionism of the following years. The shapes remain constructed and the objects carefully arranged. But this attention is not conservative: it serves to shift the center of gravity of great art. The eye passes from bread to tablecloth, from chair to window, from child to woman's face. No detail absolutely dominates. The modernity of the painting comes from this new equality between people, things and light.
The x-rays studied by the museum reveal several modifications. The woman near the window was first thought to be sitting and then standing; his gaze also changed. Two chopsticks initially placed on the table were replaced by a loaf of bread. These repentances show that the impression of snapshot is the result of thoughtful construction.
An unusual scale for a family meal and a domestic still life.
The jury refuses the painting, which does not correspond to the expected academic hierarchy.
Monet presents the work with the independent group soon to be named "impressionist".
Visual analysis
Tablecloth is not an accessory: it is a light machine
In both Lunches, the tablecloth organizes the space. In the middle of the forest, its whiteness collects sun spots and separates dark clothes from the plant floor. Inside, it becomes a scene within a scene: folds, plates, bread and glasses transform the meal into architecture of light shapes. Monet understands very early on that white is never neutral. It absorbs neighboring colors, cools in the shadows, heats up near the bread or a skin and leads the gaze from one object to another.
This attention explains why the paintings remain readable despite their abundance. Greens are not a simple natural background; they construct the intervals between the characters. The blacks and browns of the clothes serve as masses of balance. Reds and ochres appear as accents. In the Städel painting, the window acts as a second source of clarity and puts tension on the interior space: the exterior world exists off-camera, announced by the light passing through the room.
Monet's modern gaze also consists of refusing a story that is too closed. What exactly do the guests say? Has the meal just ended? Why do some characters look elsewhere? The canvas does not provide a complete anecdote. It gives clues, gestures and distances. The spectator does not witness a perfectly explained theatrical scene; he enters a moment already begun, the atmosphere of which the painting mainly preserves.
This narrative suspension brings the painting closer to a photograph, but its construction is entirely pictorial. The changes revealed by the x-ray prove that Monet adjusts the relationships between the figures at length. Apparent spontaneity is therefore a conquest. It is precisely this paradox which announces impressionism: giving the slow work of painting the vivacity of immediate perception.
Tightened chronology
From the Manet scandal to the first impressionist exhibition
Manet presents his Lunch on the grass, then titled The bath, at the Salon des Refusés. The modern subject, the nude without mythological pretext and the clashed bill cause scandal.
Monet begins his own in Chailly-en-Bière Lunch on the grass. He carries out studies on nature and prepares a monumental composition intended for the Salon.
Faced with cost, format and execution difficulties, Monet abandoned the large canvas before the opening of the Salon. He focuses on other projects, including Women in the garden.
He paints Lunch, family scene in an interior. The monumental format gives new dignity to ordinary objects and private life.
The Salon refuses Lunch. The rejection confirms the gap between Monet's ambitions and the categories defended by the institution.
The painting is exhibited during the first demonstration of the independent group, in Nadar's former workshop. The same event gives historical visibility to the word "impressionist".
Monet recovers the large canvas of the Lunch on the grassdamaged after being rolled into a cellar, then cut to save several fragments.
Art and interior
Choosing a Monet Lunch for your play
A reproduction of the Lunch brings a vertical, deep and narrative presence. It is suitable for a living room, library or dining room where you want a structured work. Dark greens, broken whites and browns create a cozy atmosphere; a dark wooden frame reinforces the historical character, while a light wand modernizes the whole.
Lunch on the Grass produces a different effect. Its bright greens and the horizontal breathing of the stage visually open the wall. The panoramic version goes well with a sofa or a large table. A vertical fragment, more enigmatic, works in an entrance or between two openings. The sketch offers a more complete composition and is often easier to integrate into a contemporary interior.
The correct format depends on the recoil distance. Above a piece of furniture, leave sufficient margin and choose a width approximately two-thirds that of the furniture. In a small room, an average reproduction preserves details without saturating the wall. In a generous space, a large format does justice to Monet's original ambition: the characters almost become physical presences again.
Shop selection
Four readings from Monet's Luncheon
These four active reproductions allow you to choose between the interior scene of the Städel, the general composition of the picnic, its variants and its fragmentary state. Each product is available in the store at the time of this publication.
The composition sketch
The most complete vision of the abandoned monumental project.
See reproduction →Extend the visit
Six collections directly related to the subject
Museum springs
Notices used to verify the history of works
Notice of the work, dimensions, characters, refusal of the Salon and exhibition of 1874.
Analysis of gender hierarchy, table and changes revealed by x-ray.
History of the project from 1865 -1866, fragments, dimensions and relationship to Manet.
Context of the Salon des Refusés of 1863 and analysis of the modernity of the painting.
Frequently asked questions
FAQ about Le Déjeuner de Monet
What's the difference between Monet's Le Déjeuner and Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe?
Lunch on the Grass, started in 1865, is a large outdoor stage that is now fragmentary. Lunch, painted in 1868 -1869, depicts Monet's family and relatives in an interior; it is kept at the Städel Museum in Frankfurt.
Where is Le Déjeuner de Claude Monet located?
The interior painting from 1868 -1869 is kept at the Städel Museum in Frankfurt am Main. It measures 231.5 × 151.5 cm and has inventory number SG 170.
Why is Le Déjeuner considered modern?
Monet gives a family scene and ordinary objects a format close to history painting. He thus calls into question the academic hierarchy which placed genre scenes and still lifes at the bottom of the ladder.
Why is Monet's Lunch on the Grass cut?
The large canvas was given as security to an owner, rolled up in a cellar and damaged by humidity. Monet recovered it in 1884, then cut it to save three fragments; two are kept at the Musée d'Orsay.
Did Monet copy Manet's Luncheon on the Grass?
No. He voluntarily takes up the title and responds to the modern challenge launched by Manet, but chooses a different scene: dressed characters, a part of the countryside and above all the study of life-size figures in changing natural light.
Who are the characters in Monet's Lunch on the Grass?
The notices from the Musée d'Orsay notably identify Frédéric Bazille, Camille Doncieux and a figure resembling Gustave Courbet. Monet had his relatives pose and repeated certain models in the composition.
Was Monet's Luncheon exhibited in 1874?
Yes. After its refusal by the Salon of 1870, the interior painting was presented in 1874 at the first exhibition of the independent group, a founding event in the history of Impressionism.
What format should I choose for a reproduction of Monet's Luncheon?
A vertical format is well suited to the interior painting of the Städel or a fragment of Orsay. For the complete sketch of the picnic, a horizontal format is preferable. The choice must take into account the width of the furniture and the setback distance.
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