Displayed at · 1986
Gare d'Orsay
The painting was assigned to the Musée d'Orsay in 1986. The museum occupies the former Gare d'Orsay; collection membership does not guarantee current gallery display.
Painting
Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe
Édouard Manet's Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe places a nude woman beside two dressed men in a wooded setting. Rejected by the official Salon in 1863, the painting was shown that year at the Salon des Refusés.
- 1863
- Oil on canvas
About Édouard Manet
A picnic with an unexplained contrast
Édouard Manet places three large figures in the foreground of Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe. The woman is nude, while the men wear contemporary clothes. Behind them, another woman bends toward the water.
The Musée d'Orsay identifies the foreground models as Victorine Meurent, Manet's brother-in-law Ferdinand Leenhoff, and Manet's brother Eugène. Its object record does not name the woman bathing in the background.
Food and discarded clothing occupy the lower-left corner. The objects explain the picnic setting, but the painting does not give a clear story for the group's different states of dress. The foreground woman's gaze turns attention outward toward the viewer.
The right-hand man's extended leg runs diagonally across the lower part of the group. His outstretched hand points back into the gathering. These crossing directions keep the figures connected despite their different gazes.
What happened in 1863
The official Salon jury rejected the painting in 1863. Manet then showed it at the Salon des Refusés, an exhibition arranged for rejected works after widespread objections to the jury's decisions.
The painting appeared under the title Le Bain, or The Bath. Its present title means Luncheon on the Grass. Olympia was painted in the same year but caused its Salon scandal two years later.
The composition's older sources
The Musée d'Orsay traces the seated group to figures in Marcantonio Raimondi's engraving after Raphael's Judgment of Paris. Manet also drew on the tradition of nude and clothed figures sharing a landscape, represented by Titian's Pastoral Concert.
Manet's borrowings from Renaissance compositions show that the picnic group was carefully posed. Its pale body, dark coats, and crossed legs form large interlocking shapes.
A foreground figure and a distant bather
The bather seems unusually large in relation to the figures in front. The narrow strip of water and loose background do little to settle the distance. Manet leaves the viewer to negotiate a space that is less consistent than a conventional perspective study.
The canvas entered the French national collections through Étienne Moreau-Nélaton's gift in 1906. It is now at the Musée d'Orsay.
Close reading
Reading the work, detail by detail
The main group, distant bather, and foreground still life are painted at different scales. Follow their edges to see how Manet connects them without making the space fully consistent.
1.Victorine Meurent looks out of the group
Her pale shoulder and face stand out against the dark foliage. The outward gaze creates a different relationship from the men's sideways conversation.
2.Ferdinand Leenhoff gestures across the center
The hand and forearm reach across the space between the figures. The gesture connects bodies that otherwise face different directions.
3.The bather is large in the distance
The bather occupies a substantial area despite her position behind the group. The limited space around her makes the depth difficult to measure.
4.A still life fills the corner
The basket spills toward the viewer. Its rounded fruit and bread contrast with the longer folds of fabric beneath it.
5.Eugène Manet's legs form a long diagonal
The extended legs run across the group's base. Light trousers separate the body from the darker ground, making the diagonal easy to follow.
6.Trees frame a pale opening
The trunks divide the background into vertical areas. The brighter opening offers a route into the landscape, though the foreground figures keep most of the attention.
Timeline
1863
In 1863, the official Salon rejected Manet's painting, which he then exhibited at the Salon des Refusés as Le Bain.
1906
In 1906, Étienne Moreau-Nélaton gave Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe to the French national collections.
1986
In 1986, Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe was assigned to the Musée d'Orsay.
Where to see it
Musée d'Orsay, Paris
Check the collection’s website for current display and visiting information before planning a visit.
View the collection recordFrequently asked questions
What does Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe mean?
Luncheon on the Grass. Manet exhibited the painting in 1863 under the earlier title Le Bain, meaning The Bath.
Why was the painting controversial?
In Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe, a nude woman sits with men in contemporary dress without a mythological explanation. Critics also objected to Manet's handling of figures and space.
Was it shown at the official Salon?
Manet's Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe was rejected by the official Salon in 1863 and exhibited at the Salon des Refusés instead.
Did Manet or Monet paint it?
The 1863 Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe is by Édouard Manet. Claude Monet later made a different painting with the same French title.
Where is the painting?
Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe is in the Musée d'Orsay collection in Paris as accession RF 1668.
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References
References
The sources below include collection records, catalogues, scholarly research, and primary materials that informed this page. They document Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe, its making, and its place in cultural history.
1Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe: public-domain reproduction
WebsiteWikimedia CommonsUsed forThe reproduction is the primary visual source for the close-reading details; rights metadata is preserved separately.
2Olympia
WebsiteMusée d'OrsayUsed forWeb source consulted for documented facts and historical context presented on the Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe page.
View source3Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe: RF 1668
WebsiteMusée d'OrsayUsed forWeb source consulted for documented facts and historical context presented on the Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe page.
4Édouard Manet (1832–1883) — The Metropolitan Museum of Art
WebsiteThe Metropolitan Museum of ArtUsed forWeb source consulted for documented facts and historical context presented on the Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe page.
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Why these sources are here
These references provide the documented foundation for this work's history and interpretation. Claim-level citations remain attached to the specific claims they support.
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