5 Best Picnic Inspirations from Art

When the days are warm and long, all I can think about are picnics and barbecues. When the sun is shining, the grass is green and birds are singing. When the basket is full of yummy sandwiches and bottles of homemade compote. If you’re planning an eat-out with your friends and family but want to do it differently than usual, take a glimpse at these picnic inspirations from art!

1. Bonnard: Watching Sports

How about a picnic by the river, while watching a rowing race? That’s a recipe for a delightful afternoon by Pierre Bonnard, a founder of the Post-Impressionist group called Nabis, which worked in Paris.

2. Botero: Almost Vegan

Fernando Botero, a contemporary Colombian artist, offers us a picnic in his usual exaggerated-volume style. This picnic seems so relaxed at first glance: a healthy basket filled with fruit and vegetables, napping somewhere in the wilderness. It’s in the second glance that we notice the hand of the smoking lady and the unsettling eruption of a volcano in the background.

3. Chase: Breakfast in a Hammock

Breakfast in a hammock? Is there anything more relaxing than a Sunday brunch in your garden? Just remember next time to put up a Japanese screen to make it look more Impressionist!

4. Cézanne: Budget but Artsy

If you are a student on a budget, use inspiration from Paul Cézanne’s interpretation of Édouard Manet’s Luncheon on the Grass. Just bring what you’ve got, which in this case means many friends and a couple of oranges.

5. Monet: When Everyone’s Full

I love the feeling when the picnic is finished and everyone is full and happy; children play outside, adults go for a walk and the wind dances with the tablecloth and women’s hats. Like in this beautiful painting by Claude Monet.