The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

5.2 - The Luncheon on the Grass by Edouard Manet
Manet shocked the French public by exhibiting this painting at the Salon des Refuses in 1863. Depicting a nude woman casually lunching with two fully dressed men, it was an affront to the propriety of the time. Read a book with a nude or partially-nude figure on the cover. Cover figure should have no visible clothing OR have exposed body parts that would normally be covered by a bikini or swim trunks OR exhibit assumed nudity (i.e., covered by a towel, bedding, or other obstructing (non-clothing) object). There must be enough of the body shows to establish nudity or partially-nudity. Ex:

Required: Include the cover in your post.

Plenty of skin:

**humanoid figures such as mannequins and statues work**

Too many clothes:



-- there must be enough body to establish nudity

~ impossible to tell if silhouettes are clothed or not

This thread is now open!

will this work

Is this one acceptable?

Is this okay? There isn't too much of her showing, but what's showing is pretty bare



Thanks!

JennRenee wrote: "will this work
"

Yes, that works. Bare legs on her and no skirt or pants to be seen.

Lois wrote: "Is this one acceptable?
"

No, sorry, Lois. She's wearing a dress, the skirt of which would normally cover her legs.

Susan wrote: "Is this okay? There isn't too much of her showing, but what's showing is pretty bare



Thanks!"

Yes, that works. Bare shoulder and chest; no shirt.

Checking:

Do human statues work:

Daphne wrote: "Checking:

"

Any of those would work.

ETA: See post 19 below

All work except:

Bea wrote: ""

That works.

Kristina Simon wrote: "Bea wrote: ""

That works."

Thanks.

Nicola wrote: "Do human statues work: "

A statue is fine, but not one with a toga that would normally cover the body. So this one wouldn't work because he has on something that could cover both top and bottom, but something like would work because she has no top.

ETA: See post 19 below

Kristina Simon wrote: "Nicola wrote: "Do human statues work: "

A statue is fine, but not one with a toga that would normally cover the body. So this one w..."

I can't really see that reasoning Kristina tbh. I thought that the statue was Hercules and it was his lion skin but taking a closer look you're right. However the second toga is larger than mine. It's just wrapped around her waist and draping on the floor. It would definitely cover her if she pulled it up and wore it properly. Toga's covered the whole body.

Regardless I'll find another for this task (I wasn't that keen to read it anyway...)

I apologize, Nicola. You're right. I haven't thought this task all the way through.

Everyone stay tuned, I'm redefining for clarity and consistency....

The whole idea behind this task is that Manet shocked people with this painting because of the nude figure of the woman. So, here's a better idea of what I'm going for here:

Cover figure should have no visible clothing, have exposed body parts that would normally be covered by a bikini or swim trunks OR exhibit assumed nudity (i.e., covered by a towel, bedding, or other obstructing (non-clothing) object).

Which means, shirtless men that are otherwise clothed will not work since there's nothing shocking about that... ;-)

I've revised posts 2 and 3 above to reflect the differences in what's approved and what's not approved.

Sorry about that, everyone!

Kristina - you should probably revise your examples in post 1 as well... I'm not sure that City of Bones should fit now, based on your new criteria. :)

Boston Kate wrote: "Kristina - you should probably revise your examples in post 1 as well... I'm not sure that City of Bones should fit now, based on your new criteria. :)"

That one still works on the basis of "no visible clothing," but thanks, Kate, I need all the help I can get, obviously! ;-)

Kristina Simon wrote: "Boston Kate wrote: "Kristina - you should probably revise your examples in post 1 as well... I'm not sure that City of Bones should fit now, based on your new criteria. :)"

That one still works on..."

Oh okay. So you can still use a shirtless male if ALL you can see of him is chest up? Good to know. :)

Do any of these work:



Thank you.

Kim wrote: "Do any of these work:

[bookc..."

Those will all work.

Boston Kate wrote: "So you can still use a shirtless male if ALL you can see of him is chest up?"

Yep. As long as you can't see any clothing we're going to assume he's naked under there.

Would this one work? It can be assumed she is nude, because she is in the bathtub, but you can't really see her body, so I'm not sure if it would fit for the task.

Alright, I have an odd one. Would a naked female with the head of a zebra work alright?

How about ?

Jen wrote: "Would this one work? It can be assumed she is nude, because she is in the bathtub, but you can't really see her body, so I'm not sure if it would fit for the task.

[bookcover:A Certain Slant of Li..."

I don't see any clothes so, yes, that works.

Daphne wrote: "Alright, I have an odd one. Would a naked female with the head of a zebra work alright?

"

Yeah, that's different alright. LOL. But, yes, there are parts that would normally be covered by a bikini exposed, so it'll work.

Elizabeth wrote: "How about ?"

That works.

good excuse to get - off the shelf

Trying to see if I understand this task.

The following cover does not work, even though shoulders are naked, because the dress can be seen:


The following cover does work even though only part of the body is visible on the cover -- because no clothing is seen.

I'm feeling pretty good about this choice. What do you think? Will the cover work?

by Sarah Waters

Just making sure. Is this one OK ?

Kristina Simon wrote: "The whole idea behind this task is that Manet shocked people with this painting because of the nude figure of the woman

This is what I thought and why I chose that book cover, but if that's the case a bit of clothing which isn't covering up the body should be ok? Not all impressionist paintings have the model fully exposed in many cases the painting was considered more intimate if the impression was received that the woman was being interrupted in some private moment, such as bathing, dressing or sleeping. Sheets or towels were often used but sometimes it's a dress or similar pulled down and used as a covering.

If you are wanting to say 'no clothing' of course it's fine but here are some examples of what I mean, the small amount of their body which is covered by what is probably clothes is there to frame rather than hide the body.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=mon...
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=mon...
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=mon...
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=mon...

Will a sort of weird baby/embryo like this work?

Will this work?

Dee wrote: "good excuse to get - off the shelf"

That would definitely work. ;-)

Deedee wrote: "Trying to see if I understand this task.

The following cover does not work, even though shoulders are naked, because the dress can be seen:


The following c..."

No, sorry. You're looking for a nude or a partially-nude figure on the cover.

-- she has a dress on. She's neither nude nor partially nude.

- this is just a head. There's no way to tell if she's nude or partially nude from this picture.

BriKie wrote: "I'm feeling pretty good about this choice. What do you think? Will the cover work?

by Sarah Waters"

Yep, that works.

Lauren wrote: "Just making sure. Is this one OK ?"

Yep, that one's good.

Nicola wrote: "Kristina Simon wrote: "The whole idea behind this task is that Manet shocked people with this painting because of the nude figure of the woman

This is what I thought and why I chose that book cov..."

Yeah, I totally agree. It's no visible clothing, OR have exposed body parts that would normally be covered by a bikini or swim trunks OR exhibit assumed nudity (i.e., covered by a towel, bedding, or other obstructing (non-clothing) object).

All those examples you have here would fall under have exposed body parts that would normally be covered by a bikini or swim trunks.

Camilla wrote: "Will a sort of weird baby/embryo like this work?
"

That works.

Kristen wrote: "
Will this work?"

Yes it will.

Just want to check these out:


Thank you!

I'm assuming this one works ...

Kelly Marianne wrote: "Just want to check these out:
[bookcover:As mulheres do me..."

Assuming the first one meets the ebook length verification, any of those will work.

Book Concierge wrote: "I'm assuming this one works ..."

It certainly does!