Throughout centuries, artwork and the style involved in bringing the pieces to reality have differed greatly as artists continuously find different ways to portray their perceptions and emotions. One best example of such is the difference in centuries between the artworks Titian’s Pastoral Concert and Manet’s Le Dejeuner sur l’herbe whose comparison and contrast range in the centuries of presentation. Further, the differences in the two artworks can be evident in their composition, ideas, and what the artists intended to communicate to their audience. The 1510-piece Titian’s Pastoral Concert and the 1863 Manet’s Le Dejeuner sur l’herbe vary greatly not only in the centuries but in their style and composition. However, through focal points, colors, and characters, the two artworks show certain similarities.
The astonishing composition in the two artworks introduce and entirely new representation of still life and portraiture genre in single paintings. In Le Dejeuner sur l’herbe, also known as Luncheon on the grass, depicting an undressed lady eating outside with two fully dressed men (Takac). In the rural environment, Manet portrays a controversial work of art that constitutes a bather in the background, resulting in the artwork being rejected by the Paris Salon jury (Takac). A similar representation is found in the Pastoral Concert where Titan portrays two young men, one in a red costume and another, simply dressed yet bare footed, seat at the center of dell’s bathed landscape in the light of sunset (Muse). On both sides of the men are undressed women, one is upright but slightly far emptying the glass into a spring and the other sits, fluting. In other words, between the two portraits, both Titian and Manet show two nude females and two clothed men in beautiful landscapes.
The other similarity, which represents the theme in the two artworks, is the form of bizarre communication and erotic tension, or the lack of it, among the figures in the portraits (Muse). In the Luncheon on the Grass, the three characters appearing in the foreground and the bather in the background seem distant (Muse). The nude female in the foreground appears to be staring at the audience with the two men lost in a deep conversation, they are complemented by a still life on the canvas’ lower left plane (Camara). On this part of the canvas, Manet shows a fruit basket, a round read loaf, and the lady’s clothes (Gao 3). The woman in the background takes a bath in the stream and she appears surreal and ghostly in the portrait based on her size.
The theme ppears in Titian’s artwork where the two nude women seem to be a part of an intimate group. Like in the Luncheon on the Grass, the two men are lost in a conversation oblivious of everything else that is going on around them (Camara). Moreover, the intimacy of the moment in the portrait is evident in how the men lean towards each other, their heads almost touching, while the flute player gazes at them playing (Titian). The center of this artwork is the two men; however, the naked woman on the left turns away from the other three who appear to share a common bond through the music played through the flute. The standing lady turns away from the contrapposto as she prepares to pour water into a stone well (Titian). The reflection on the woman’s glass pitcher shows a bright impasto white paint dab, which describes the small waterfall (Titian). The shepherd is too distant to even matter in the portrait, meaning he forms part of the artwork’s background.
Based on the landscape in the Pastoral Concert, Titian paints a herdsman who is tending to his sheep, whose significance is illustrated later in the paragraph. Together with the allegory of poetry represented in the two nude yet ideal beautiful women, the unreal figures in the portrait exist only in the imaginations of the two men inspired by the women (Camara). Based on the Venice taste widespread for simultaneous depiction of the invisible and the visible, the strangeness of the meeting between the two men, in the poetic world, reveals a confrontation between two worlds (Titian). The artwork suggests a complicated meaning between the shepherds and nymphs, on the one hand, and venetian aristocracy, on the other hand, with music being the only form of communication.
Contrastingly, the landscape in the Luncheon on the Grass represents the l’île Saint-Ouen, which is on the outskirts of Paris near Manet’s family estate. The four figures in the artwork were inspired by real people and models familiar to the artist (Gao 3). The nude female in the foreground is thought to have been Victorine Meurent who was Manet’s favorite and frequently portrayed model, and appears in another of Manet’s artwork, Olympia (Sumner 32). The two male figures in the painting are considered to be Manet’s brothers, Gustave and Eugene, which makes scholars to consider the artwork as Manet’s family portrait.
However, when it comes to Manet’s art, compared to the trio in the foreground, the bathing woman is too large. Manet uses this image to show lack of connection significance between the trio in the foreground and the bathing woman in the background. Manet’s overall impression is that of the image taking place within a studio since the artist uses lowlight, lack of depth in the background, and no shadows (Takac). The idea presented by Manet contradicts that by Titian who shows a state of togetherness in the four figures forming the masterpiece. With the exception of the shepherd in the background, the four figures seem to have connection significance in how they relate to one another (Camara). Moreover, unlike Manet who gives the impression that the paining is from a studio, Titian gives the impression the artwork takes place in the field with sufficient lighting and provides a profound background in the piecework. There is a clear reflection of a sufficient light evidenced in the shadow of the standing woman and that of the shepherd and his sheep.
The other difference between Titian and Manet is in the texture of the naked forefront women. Titian gives a rougher texture, which he creates by the technique, which endows the form in the art piece. For example, in the image of the woman pouring water, Titian uses a certain sfumato or haziness, which is responsible for softening the form (Titian). The effect of the haziness effectively conveys the notion that is both soft afternoon light, or ephemeral, and tactile softness of the nude flesh (Muse). Contrastingly, Manet’s image of the two naked women lacks in haziness appear smooth yet lacks the softness of the naked flesh.
Moreover, in Pastoral Concert, Titian exemplifies an invention that idyllically focuses on landscape. The Venetian invention shows the master piece portraying a landscape that is populated by goddess and gods, peasants and shepherds, satyrs and nymphs (Titian). With the introduction to Renaissance Venice art by Giorgione, Titian’s contribution forms a central principle in the Renaissance theory, which emphasizes on the conceptual activity of the artist’s mind. The artists in the Renaissance theory did not focus on the artist’s intellectual status, instead, focusing on the conceptual activity that considers the creation of something original (Camara). That is evident in the artwork as Titian’s piece portrays an association between the shepherds and the nymphs.
Manet’s Le Dejeuner sur l’herbe on the other hand is a representation of a departure from impressionism. The artwork represents a shift from the traditional academic subjects that conforms to convention of new freedoms (Sumner 34). Moreover, Manet refuses to use traditional artwork to incorporate an understanding of theoretical flats where the transition between dark and light elements (Takac). That is the reason Manet uses the space set in the studio to paint the nude woman using studio-like lighting instead of natural light used by Titian.
In conclusion, the difference in centuries between Titian’s Pastoral Concert and Manet’s Le Dejeuner sur l’herbe is evident in representation style and in composition, ideas, and what the artists intended to communicate to their audience. Through focusing on the focal points, characters, and colors, both Titian and Manet represent the theme in the two artworks, is the form of strange interaction and sexual tension, or the lack of it, among the figures in the portraits. However, through the differences in how the artists perceive reality, the artists show a distinct understanding of the same artistic thought.
Works Cited
Camara, Esperanca. Titian, Pastoral Concert. Smart history.
Gao, Siyu. The Lunch on the Grass. Art History. 2017.
Muse, Byrons. Posts about 1510. The Pastoral Concert by Titian or Giorgione. 2017.
Sumner, Ann. Edouard Manet. Arcturus Publishing Limited. 2021.
Takac, Balasz. The Everlasting Mystery of Le Dejeuner sur l’herbe by Édouard Manet. 2019.
Titian. Pastoral Concert. Art history. v. 2.