Luncheon of the Boating Party
Encyclopedia
Luncheon of the Boating Party (1881
, French: Le déjeuner des canotiers) is a painting
by French
impressionist
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
. It was purchased from the artist by the dealer-patron Paul Durand-Ruel
and bought in 1923 (for $125,000) from his son by Duncan Phillips
. It is currently housed in The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C.
. It shows a richness of form, a fluidity of brush stroke, and a flickering light.
along the Seine
river in Chatou
, France. The painter and art patron, Gustave Caillebotte
, is seated in the lower right. Renoir's future wife, Aline Charigot, is in the foreground playing with a small dog. On the table is fruit and wine.
The diagonal of the railing serves to demarcate the two halves of the composition, one densely packed with figures, the other all but empty, save for the two figures of the proprietor's daughter Louise-Alphonsine Fournaise and her brother, Alphonse Fournaise, Jr, which are made prominent by this contrast. In this painting Renoir has captured a great deal of light. The main focus of light is coming from the large opening in the balcony, beside the large singleted man in the hat. The singlets of both men in the foreground and the table-cloth all work together to reflect this light and send it through the whole composition.
's recollections as Time
s art critic at the time, when he repaired one day to The Phillips Collection:
The campaigning body ArtWatch International
has drawn attention to the cleaning of this picture, which it regards as unnecessary and having resulted in a loss of tone
. The ArtWatch UK Journal 22 (Autumn 2007) quoted Sheldon Keck from his work 'Some Picture Cleaning Controversies: Past and Present' (1984):
1881 in art
-Events:*The Société des Artistes Français is established, with William-Adolphe Bouguereau as its first president.-Works:*Lawrence Alma-Tadema - The Tepidarium*Marie Bashkirtseff - The Studio...
, French: Le déjeuner des canotiers) is a painting
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
by French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
impressionist
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Pierre-Auguste Renoir was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty, and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "Renoir is the final representative of a tradition which runs directly from Rubens to...
. It was purchased from the artist by the dealer-patron Paul Durand-Ruel
Paul Durand-Ruel
Paul Durand-Ruel was a French art dealer who is associated with the Impressionists. He was one of the first modern art dealers who provided support to his painters with stipends and solo exhibitions....
and bought in 1923 (for $125,000) from his son by Duncan Phillips
Duncan Phillips (art collector)
Duncan Phillips was a Washington, DC, based art collector and critic who played a seminal role in introducing America to modern art. The grandson of James H. Laughlin, a banker and co-founder of the Jones and Laughlin Steel Company, Phillips was born in Pittsburgh and moved with his family to...
. It is currently housed in The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. It shows a richness of form, a fluidity of brush stroke, and a flickering light.
Description
The painting depicts a group of Renoir's friends relaxing on a balcony at the Maison FournaiseMaison Fournaise
The Maison Fournaise is a restaurant and museum located on the Île des Impressionnistes in the Seine in Chatou, west of Paris.In 1857, Alphonse Fournaise bought land in Chatou to open a boat rental, restaurant, and small hotel for the new tourist trade....
along the Seine
Seine
The Seine is a -long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Saint-Seine near Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre . It is navigable by ocean-going vessels...
river in Chatou
Chatou
Chatou is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris from the center...
, France. The painter and art patron, Gustave Caillebotte
Gustave Caillebotte
Gustave Caillebotte was a French painter, member and patron of the group of artists known as Impressionists, though he painted in a much more realistic manner than many other artists in the group...
, is seated in the lower right. Renoir's future wife, Aline Charigot, is in the foreground playing with a small dog. On the table is fruit and wine.
The diagonal of the railing serves to demarcate the two halves of the composition, one densely packed with figures, the other all but empty, save for the two figures of the proprietor's daughter Louise-Alphonsine Fournaise and her brother, Alphonse Fournaise, Jr, which are made prominent by this contrast. In this painting Renoir has captured a great deal of light. The main focus of light is coming from the large opening in the balcony, beside the large singleted man in the hat. The singlets of both men in the foreground and the table-cloth all work together to reflect this light and send it through the whole composition.
Subjects depicted
As he often did in his paintings, Renoir included several of his friends in Luncheon of the Boating Party. Among them are the followinghttp://www.acesart.com/boatingparty/people.htm:- The seamstress Aline Charigot, holding a dog, sits near the bottom left of the composition. Renoir later married her.
- Charles EphrussiCharles EphrussiCharles Ephrussi was a Russian critic, art historian, and art collector. He also was a part-owner and then editor as well as a contributor to the Gazette des Beaux-Arts, the most important art historical periodical in France...
—wealthy amateur art historian, collector, and editor of the Gazette des Beaux-ArtsGazette des Beaux-ArtsThe Gazette des Beaux-Arts was a French art review, found in 1859 by Édouard Houssaye, with Charles Blanc as its first chief editor. It was a world reference work on art history for nearly 100 years - one other editor in chief, from 1955 to 1987, was Jean Adhémar...
—appears wearing a top hat in the background. The younger man to whom Ephrussi appears to be speaking, more casually attired in a brown coat and cap, may be Jules LaforgueJules LaforgueJules Laforgue was an innovative Franco-Uruguayan poet, often referred to as a Symbolist poet. Critics and commentators have also pointed to Impressionism as a direct influence and his poetry has been called "part-symbolist, part-impressionist".-Life:...
, his personal secretary and also a poet and critic. - Actress Ellen Andrée drinks from a glass in the center of the composition. Seated across from her is Baron Raoul Barbier.
- Placed within but peripheral to the party are the proprietor's daughter Louise-Alphonsine Fournaise and her brother, Alphonse Fournaise, Jr., both sporting traditional straw boaters and appearing to the left side of the image. Alphonsine is the smiling woman leaning on the railing; Alphonse, who was responsible for the boat rental, is the leftmost figure.
- Also wearing boaters are figures appearing to be Renoir's close friends Eugène Pierre Lestringez and Paul Lhote, himself an artist. Renoir depicts them flirting with the actress Jeanne Samary in the upper righthand corner of the painting.
- In the right foreground, Gustave CaillebotteGustave CaillebotteGustave Caillebotte was a French painter, member and patron of the group of artists known as Impressionists, though he painted in a much more realistic manner than many other artists in the group...
wears a white boater's shirt and flat-topped straw boater's hat as he sits backwards in his chair next to actress Angèle Legault and journalist Adrien Maggiolo. An art patron, painter, and important figure in the impressionist circle, Caillebotte was also an avid boatman and drew on that subject for several works.
Cleaning controversy
The 1954 restoration by Sheldon and Caroline Keck of Luncheon of the Boating Party has generated a long-running controversy. The ArtWatch UK Journal 19 (Autumn 2002) quoted the art critic Alexander EliotAlexander Eliot
Alexander Eliot is an American writer born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, best known for his works on spirituality and myth...
's recollections as Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
s art critic at the time, when he repaired one day to The Phillips Collection:
The campaigning body ArtWatch International
ArtWatch International
ArtWatch International was founded by James Beck, professor of art history at Columbia University, to monitor, and campaign for better practices in, the conservation of art works...
has drawn attention to the cleaning of this picture, which it regards as unnecessary and having resulted in a loss of tone
Artistic tone
Tone in an artistic context refers to the light and dark values used to render a realistic object, or to create an abstract composition. When using pastel, an artist may often use a colored paper support, using areas of pigment to define lights and darks, while leaving the bare support to show...
. The ArtWatch UK Journal 22 (Autumn 2007) quoted Sheldon Keck from his work 'Some Picture Cleaning Controversies: Past and Present' (1984):
Popular culture references
- Actor Edward G. RobinsonEdward G. RobinsonEdward G. Robinson was a Romanian-born American actor. A popular star during Hollywood's Golden Age, he is best remembered for his roles as gangsters, such as Rico in his star-making film Little Caesar and as Rocco in Key Largo...
(1893-1973) is quoted as saying: “For over thirty years I made periodic visits to Renoir's Luncheon of the Boating Party in a Washington museum, and stood before that magnificent masterpiece hour after hour, day after day, plotting ways to steal it." - The painting was featured prominently in Jean-Pierre JeunetJean-Pierre Jeunet-Life and career:Jean-Pierre Jeunet was born in Roanne, Loire, France. He bought his first camera at the age of 17 and made short films while studying animation at Cinémation Studios. He befriended Marc Caro, a designer and comic book artist who became his longtime collaborator and...
's film Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain — released in English as Amélie (2001). The most prominent reference is a comparison between the film's protagonist, Amélie, and the woman in the centre sipping a glass (Actress Ellen Andrée), seemingly gazing out of the canvas, uninterested, while everyone else is enjoying the day together. - A homageHomageHomage is a show or demonstration of respect or dedication to someone or something, sometimes by simple declaration but often by some more oblique reference, artistic or poetic....
to this painting appears in the final panel of On the False EarthsOn the False EarthsOn The False Earths is volume seven in the French comic book science fiction series Valérian and Laureline created by writer Pierre Christin and artist Jean-Claude Mézières.-Outline:...
, the seventh volume of Jean-Claude MézièresJean-Claude MézièresJean-Claude Mézières is a French comic strip artist and illustrator. Born and raised in Paris, he was introduced to drawing by his older brother and influenced by comics artists such as Hergé, Andre Franquin and Morris and later by Jijé and Jack Davis...
and Pierre ChristinPierre Christin- Biography :Christin was born at Saint-Mandé in 1938.After graduating from the Sorbonne, Christin pursued graduate studies in political science at SciencesPo and became a professor of French literature at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City. His first comics story, Le Rhum du Punch, illustrated...
's long-running comic bookComic bookA comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series Valérian and Laureline. http://dugueta.club.fr/references_canotiers.htm