Edouard Manet was a French painter who was born on January 23, 1832 and died on April 30, 1883. He was an expert when it came to approaching modern-life subjects in his work, filling the gap between the art movement's realism and impressionism. After painting "Luncheon on the Grass" (1863) Manet received a great deal of media attention. While a nude in a classical setting was considered acceptable, one nude in a contemporary setting was not acceptable. Savaged by the critics, "Luncheon on the Grass" caused a public scandal. Influenced by the painting "Judgment of Paris" by Raphael, Manet featured a naked woman with clothed men. The female's body appears luminous and her gaze is directed towards the viewer. Manet wanted the viewer's attention drawn directly towards the nude female's body. The meaning of this piece of art that Edouard Manet intended was that just because a nude female is casually sitting beside two fully clothed men doesn't mean that the two men's attention will be towards the nude woman. The two men accompanying the woman seem to be ignoring the woman as they are engaged in a deep conversation. They seem to not be at all astonished at the woman's presence by their posture and facial expressions.
Manet executed the characters in this painting like they were supernaturally present. The woman in the background bathing in the stream also seems ignorant or comfortable by the other nude woman sitting with the two men. She appears like she is floating. There is an atmosphere of informal familiarity in his work. Each character in this painting is sitting in a very relaxed manner. The men for example are reclining casually, while the way the women are sitting is also in an uninhibited manner, obviously not a way that a lady would regularly sit, especially in nude. She looks quite comfortable the way she is sitting though. She has one leg drawn up and the other leg relaxed, lying down. The woman's hand is holding her chin as...