Self-Portrait as “Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe” (#luncheononthegrass) by Édouard Manet, 1863. Ok.... so we can start w the obvious. What in gay hell was Manet thinking?! There are so many things we can compare and contrast in this image. The gaze, the clothed/nude, the masculine/feminine, the separation and distance of the two women(jaw drop), the light palette of the women vs the dark of the male figures, the wonky proportions... My favorite thing to think about with this image is the gaze of the fully nude woman. You can’t tell if she’s reaching out to the viewer or opposing your gaze. Is it a call for help or a look of defiance, maybe admittance? H E N N Y. The Herby fully loadedness is far too much. Many critiques of this well-known work have been issued... is it a conversation on Prostitution? Is it just a vulgar man painting women in their most vulnerable state? Or is it a study on feminine wiles? My guess is that it was a naive choice made by Manet, although heavily informed by the social and societal treatment of women at the time. 🤷🏽‍♀️💁🏽🤷🏽‍♀️💁🏽🤷🏽‍♀️ BTW, the female in the foreground was his close friend Victorine Meurent who was also the model for Olympia! 💞😱💞