Luncheon on the Grass 248×217 cm, painted 1865–1866, housed at the Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Detail of Luncheon on the Grass. The deceptive light penetrates the canvas. 248×217 cm, 1865–1866. Collection of the Musée d'Orsay, Paris.

Monet (1840–1926) is the most typical painter of French Impressionism. Influenced early on by Courbet, Corot, and Pissarro, he gradually abandoned form to capture the appearance of light and fleeting moments with a new technique. In his works, color is built from distinct brushstrokes; in the Haystacks and Rouen Cathedral series, he explored the close relationship between visual perception and "the greatest appearance" amidst unknown realities. In his later years, he affectionately painted the landscapes of his garden in Giverny.

Luncheon on the Grass is a masterpiece from Monet’s youth (he was only 25). He crafted this structurally complex work as a tribute to his predecessor Manet (borrowing his subject matter), while also carrying a hint of challenge. Here, Monet interprets the forest clearing with a new form: two well-dressed men accompanied by two elegantly dressed women for a picnic. In the dense forest, strong bright noon sunlight filters through the trees, with hazy air and light floating over the figures and the meal on the ground.

Monet treated the composition using planes of color, capturing light and air through contrasting hues to present an enviable picnic scene. We see the lady in the black-like ornate dress is Camille (future Mrs. Monet); the man in the black suit to her right is the painter Courbet; the gentleman wearing a hat behind them is Bazille and a friend. The fruit and still life on the ground are composed of clusters of color, suggesting various pictorial possibilities within non-figurative, suggestive expression. This would become one of the fundamental topics of exploration for future modern painting.