Le Dejeuner sur l’herbe!

Le Dejeuner sur l’herbe!

During the most recent meeting of our Friday Night Foyle’s War Club, the Actual Members gathered round the pool instead of missing the lovely evening by sitting inside. Lady Egality had most brilliantly produced some delicious salmon blinis and the Agent had left us a jug of Pimm’s which tasted very good indeed. So, as DCS Foyle was called in to get to the bottom of another frightful murder in 1940s Hastings, we were watching him en plein air  with a mini picnic spread about!

Lady Sebright decides to take on Manet!

It was so relaxing sitting outside that as the closing credits came up on the screen, instead of packing everything up and leaving to go home Lady Sebright suggested that we should pose ourselves lying about as if we were modelling for Manet’s ‘Le Dejeuner sur l’herbe’. Once we’d arranged ourselves in appropriate positions, she could try sketching us!

Spot the difference!

We took loads of liberties as of course…

1. it wasn’t lunchtime at all  and
2. Lady E and I certainly weren’t prepared to lie about in the nack as Manet’s ladies did.

However, we still had some Pimm’s and blinis so when we pushed the tv and the table and chairs away, the picnic part looked pretty authentic. Lady Sebright then suddenly turned into a diva! Apparently, it was absolutely necessary for either Lady Egality or me to jump into the pool. If both of us were on dry land, her sketch would be pointless as it wouldn’t bear any relation to Manet’s ‘Le Dejeuner…’  Gosh, I had no idea that Artists could be so demanding!

Guess who was brave enough to volunteer!

Here is Manet’s masterpiece:

Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe (English, “The Luncheon on the Grass”) – originally titled Le Bain (The Bath) – is a large oil on canvas painting by Édouard Manet created in 1862 and 1863. The painting depicts the juxtaposition of a female nude and a scantily dressed female bather on a picnic with two fully dressed men in a rural setting. Rejected by the Salon jury of 1863, Manet seized the opportunity to exhibit this and two other paintings in the 1863 Salon des Refuséswhere the painting sparked public notoriety and controversy. The piece is now in the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. A smaller, earlier version can be seen at the Courtauld Gallery, London  (source: Wikipedia)

Here is Lady Sebright’s masterpiece:

(left to right: LLH (me!), Colonel Beverly Pyncheon, Lady Egality (in pool) and The Graf von Blommehön)

Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe (English, “The Luncheon on the Grass”) – originally titled Le Friday Night Foyle’s War Club (The Friday Night Foyle’s War Club) – is a small crayon sketch by Lady Sebright created in June, 2014. The painting depicts the juxtaposition of a female fully clothed and a female bather in a swimming costume on a picnic with two fully dressed men in a rural setting. Rejected by the Chairman of the Village Hall of 2014, Lady Sebright seized the opportunity to exhibit this sketch in Lady Liberty’s blog post of 16/06/14 where it sparked universal acclaim and admiration. The piece is now published  in ‘The Awesome Hen’ on the World Wide Web. A smaller, earlier version can be seen in Lady Sebright’s sketch pad, Castle Coop. (source: www.theawesomehen.com)

Going by how much Manet’s paintings cost, we are all sure Lady Sebright’s sketch is worth at least a few million…

Yours, definitely about to be contacted on Lady Sebright’s behalf, by the Tate Gallery,