In this artwork, how is the Criticism discussed?
There were many mixed reviews and responses to Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe when it was first displayed and it continues to yield a variety of responses. The initial response was characterized by its blunt rejection from the Paris Salon and subsequent display in the Salon des Refusés. Though many critiques were rooted in confusion about the piece, they were not always completely negative.
Odilon Redon, for example, did not like it. There is a discussion of it, from this point of view, in Proust's Remembrance of Things Past.
Le Capitaine Pompilius, a contributor for Le Petit Journal, thought the characteristically "male" colors of the piece brought the countryside into the salon, but thought the painting was underdeveloped.
Castagnary, appreciator of realist works, identified it as a nice sketch but said it lacked sincerity and lost the definition of the anatomy of the subjects. He also described Manet's painting technique as "flabby".
Arthur Stevens, contributor for Le Figaro, praised Manet as a talented colorist but felt that he neglected form and modeling in this piece.
Thoré, Paul, and Louvet loved the energy of the colors but found the brush strokes to be uneven.One interpretation of the work is that it depicts the rampant prostitution present at that time in the Bois de Boulogne, a large park on the western outskirts of Paris. This prostitution was common knowledge in Paris, but was considered a taboo subject unsuitable for a painting.
Castagnary Salon Odilon Redon prostitution Proust Bois de Boulogne Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe Salon des Refusés Remembrance of Things Past Le Capitaine Pompilius Paris Thoré fr Le Petit Journal Le Figaro