Le Déjeuner 

Walter Battiss created this work, "Le Déjeuner", using oil on board. The painting presents a pastoral scene with simplified forms and muted tones. The figures are rendered with a focus on geometric shapes. This flattens the composition and reduces depth, challenging traditional perspective. The artist's brushstrokes and textures contribute to the overall effect. The use of color creates contrasts between the figures, landscape, and sky. The pale hues of the bodies against the water and flora evokes a sense of detachment and reflection. The figures are arranged as signifiers in a symbolic system. Battiss’s formal reduction and symbolic arrangements invite us to decode the underlying structures of the artwork. This allows for a reading of how it engages with and challenges conventional notions of beauty, nature, and the human form. Ultimately, this piece remains open to re-interpretation.