The Musée d'Orsay in Paris staged a mock trial of Édouard Manet and his model Victorine Meurent for his 1863 painting *Déjeuner sur l'herbe*, which caused scandal at the Salon des Refusés for its nude female figure. The event, part of the museum's Orsay Live program for 18-to-25-year-olds, featured real lawyers, a sitting judge, and students from the Fédération française de Débat et d'Éloquence, with speeches reviewed by Manet specialist Isolde Pludermacher. The trial aimed to explore historical debates about morality, indecency, and artistic freedom in a courtroom format.
This mock trial matters because it uses an innovative, interactive format to engage younger audiences with art history and social issues, particularly feminism, in partnership with the Fondation des Femmes. By bringing art and law into dialogue, the event highlights enduring tensions around freedom of expression and artistic creation, while also addressing gender representation—the museum wrote additional roles for women to balance the cast. It reflects a growing trend among cultural institutions like Versailles and Mucem to use mock trials as educational tools, making historical controversies feel immediate and relevant.