Sunday, May 27, 2007

Breakfast in the Open Air...Edward Manet flaunts tradition!

Edouard Manet painted Breakfast in the Open Air for the annual exhibition of the Académie Royale in Paris in 1863. But his painting was not allowed to be shown officially. The principal figure, Victorine Meurent, was Manet's favorite model. 7,000 people viewed the painting on the first day of the show in the "Salon of the Rejected." Most were either shocked or amused by the shamelessness of the picture.
Nowadays, Edouard Manet is acknowledged worldwide as the most important reviver of painting. An inarguable high point in art history, he triggered a decisive turn towards modernism.





3 comments:

Pat Paulk said...

Amazing how things change. Thanks for the history with the painting.

tom said...

enjoyed the video -
actually found it real interesting how the actors looked so close to the figures in the painting - and the way they moved from tableau to tableau, etc

Pris said...

Hi Pat
So true.

Tom
I found that fascinating, too. The actors did a wonderful job at recreating the painting.