Pablo Picasso’s “The Luncheon on the Grass (after Manet)” is an oil on canvas painting dating back to 1960. The artwork, which is housed at the Musée Picasso in Paris, France, is associated with the Surrealism art movement and can be classified as a genre painting. Picasso’s creation is a reinterpretation of Édouard Manet’s famous 19th-century work “Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe,” and it reflects both the original’s provocative nature and Picasso’s unique perspective and surrealist tendencies.
The artwork features a group of figures set against a verdant background composed of broad, expressive strokes of color that evoke the sensation of a woodland scene. At the forefront, a nude female figure is depicted seated with a pitcher in her hand, reminiscent of the central figure in Manet’s original painting. To her right, one can observe two male figures dressed in clothing from the period, engaged in a conversation. The scene is a chaotic yet harmonious juxtaposition of everyday life with the uncanny, a hallmark of Surrealism. Picasso’s brushwork and the colors chosen imbue the painting with vibrancy and immediacy. His interpretation in the surrealist style is marked by distorted forms and exaggerated features which reinterpret the classical subject matter with Picasso’s characteristic innovative approach to form and color.
