MELBOURNE.- Calling all Monet fans: you need to hurry on down to the NGV’s European Masters exhibition before 9pm Wednesday 1 September!

Claude Monet’s fascinating work The Luncheon is making a planned early departure from the National Gallery of Victoria’s European Masters exhibition to be a part of a Monet retrospective at the Galeries nationales du Grand Palais in Paris.

Painted in 1868, The Luncheon was submitted to the Salon in Paris in 1870. However the painting was rejected as it was deemed too radical in its presentation of a simple domestic scene.

The painting shows a homely interior with the table set for lunch, the empty chair in the foreground awaiting the arrival of Monet himself. The woman opposite is Monet’s future wife Camille with their son Jean. A female visitor leans against the window and a maid is opening a cupboard while toys are strewn across the floor.

Monet has depicted a scene from everyday life, deliberately breaking the rules of convention. Major Salon paintings of the time generally depicted portraits or grand themes. As a result of the rejection of this painting by the Salon jury, Monet never again submitted a work to the Salon, becoming instead a leading master of impressionism.

Frances Lindsay, Deputy Director, NGV said: “The last chance to see this superb painting will be Wednesday 1 September. The Gallery will be open until 9pm to ensure the painting is sent off to Paris in style! We will be holding a very special art after dark event for all Monet fans featuring Melbourne’s very own gypsy brass band The WooHoo Revue followed by a can-can extravaganza.”

European Masters: Städel Museum, 19th–20th Century is on display at NGV International until Sunday 10 October. The exhibition is open daily 10am–5pm and until 9pm on Wednesdays for art after dark.