Édouard Manet and William-Adolphe Bouguereau are two famous 19th century French painters. They are widely famous for their painting techniques and influence that they had on the future generation of impressionist painters, such as Pablo Picasso. Édouard Manet and William-Adolphe Bouguereau were highly criticized for the subjects matters and painting manners that they used in their most famous pictures that we are going to compare and contrast in this paper. The first picture is Edouard Manet’s Le Dejuner sur L’herbe created in 1863 and William-Adolphe Bouguereau’s Nymphs and Satyr painted in 1873. Those pictures were created during the same era; however, they present different artistic movements. Manet’s picture presents the transition from realism to impressionist demonstrating a modern life subjects. As opposed to the Le Dejuner sur L’herbe, Adolphe Bouguereau’s Nymphs and Satyr appeared just one year before the first impressionist exhibition was held; the painting represented the traditions of the academic art and, at the same time, predicted the launch of impressionism. Both pictures are united by common subject of female nudeness that, however, does not attract the eyes of the viewer, but service as the main means to express the main ideas of the pictures. Thus, the first picture under consideration is Edouard Manet’s Déjeuner sur L’herbe (1863). This picture is considered to be one of the most famous and the most influential picture of the 19 th centuries. It was created on the border of two great artistic movements, realism and impressionism. Thus, it has features of both periods. On the one hand, it depicts a realistic life-scene, on the other hand, a nude woman is an inappropriate “figure” in a life-scene picture. The influence of the realistic movement is seen in its style and theme. However, the impressionistic manner is seen in the picture as well. First of all, it can be seen through the usage of colors and unique brushwork that was later adopted by impressionists. The picture demonstrates controversy that “was caused by the juxtaposition of a nude woman with a pair of clothed men seated in a landscape” (Rothwell 7). The theme and painting techniques used by the artist were inspired by old masters, such as Marcantonio Raimond and his picture The Judgement of Paris , and such paintings of the Renaissance period as Titian and Giorgione. There is much in common with the painting Pastoral Concert that also depicts two dressed men and two nude women. In general, it can be said that the artist combined two genres in his picture, landscape and portraiture: “His aim for the work seems to have been to combine the natural, pastoral setting – favored by the Barbizon painters in their own paintings of Fontainebleau – with a study of everyday, life-size people interacting with one another. In other words, he is fusing the genres of landscape and portraiture and placing the subject of modern life on a heroic scale” (“Manet’s Déjeuner sur L’herbe” n. p.). It demonstrates the artist’s own style of painting. The picture provoked much debate regarding its composition and the use of light. The artist painted the scene that is not understandable for the viewer. Two men dressed as dendi seem to be communicating, however,