Claude Monet
(1840 - 1926)
 

Art history would probably have taken a different course if the jury of the Paris Salon had not turned down this painting by Monet in 1870. This rejection was followed four years later by the first exhibition of the Impressionists, where Monet presented the work. It shows his family, a guest and a maidservant during luncheon. The liberal brushwork that Monet will apply in ‘La Grenouillère’ a few months later is not yet visible. This is a private scene from everyday life, but the nearly monumental format chosen by the artist raises its status to that of history painting.

https://sammlung.staedelmuseum.de/en/work/the-luncheon

The Luncheon
1868 – 1869 
Oil on canvas
231.5 x 151.5 cm
Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
https://sammlung.staedelmuseum.de/en/work/the-luncheon

The painting depicts his future wife, Camille, and their son, Jean, seated at a table. The scene is one of ease and comfort and was painted when Monet’s fortunes were changing for the better.
The portrait is about routine activities in the Monet household and the scene is set in Étretat. Claude Monet, plagued by a chronic lack of funds, was fortunate enough to secure a modest stipend from a patron in the summer of 1868.
This was the first time he could afford to live in a modest home. Monet is absent from the painting, and two empty chairs create the impression that Monet and a guest have yet to arrive.

https://www.monetpaintings.org/luncheon/