Un Déjeuner Plus Agréable (sold)

Title: Un Déjeuner Plus Agréable.

Copyright: © 2013 Dan Sullivan.

Medium: Acrylic painting on canvas.

Materials: Acrylic colours on Loxley 12 ounce (420 gsm) 100% linen canvas, bound to an MDF (medium density fibreboard) support.

Protected with three coats of acrylic varnish. Framed in a coloured, matt finish, solid aluminium moulding.

Size including Frame: 86.5 cm x 119.5 cm (34” x 47”). All measurements approximate.

This is my reworking of a very famous composition, Édouard Manet’s mysterious ‘Le déjeuner sur l'herbe’ (1862-63).

Like many people over the last 150 years or so, I’ve always felt a bit uneasy about the original, much as I admire Manet’s work and style.

It’s not so much the dramatic difference between the dress (or undress) of the male and female characters, though the chaps in their full Sunday best do strike the modern viewer as slightly ridiculous. But the total lack of interest in their companions that Manet’s gentlemen display is really rather disturbing.

I love the idea of the naked picnic: the stolen moment of pleasure away from the public gaze, the audacity, the freedom, the danger of discovery. I just wanted the participants to look like they were enjoying the experience!

This artwork was sold in June 2016. It is now available as a limited edition print.