Behind The Brush: Renoir's Luncheon Of The Boating Party

I briefly spoke about Renoir's Luncheon of the Boating Party in my Gustave Caillebotte post but I wanted to discuss it a little more.

Renoir painted Luncheon of the Boating Party in 1881 and was displayed a year later in the Seventh Impressionist Exhibition. Three art critics dubbed it the best painting in the show.

www.wikipedia.org

The painting shows Renoir's friends mingling on a balcony at the Maison Fournaise restaurant in Chatou. Caillebotte is placed in the lower right looking at Aline Charigot (Renoir's later wife) who is playing with her dog. Standing with what looks like a white cardigan is Renoir's journalist friend, Adrien Maggiolo. Angèle, one of Renoir's commonly used models is looking up at Maggiolo. Leaning against the railing in the white is Alphonse Fournaise Jr. Alphonsine Fournaise rests with her elbows on the railing while Baron Raoul Barbier looks her way. His back is turned away from us. The woman drinking behind Barbier is actress Ellen Andrée. The man with the top hat behind her is Charles Ephrussi, a banker and editor of Gazette des beaux-arts. He is talking to poet Jules Laforgue. Lastly, in the upper right is Eugène Pierre Lestringuez chatting with actress Jeanne Samary and between them is artist Paul Lhote.

I am not sure who the man is that sits next to Ellen Andrée.

Although everyone in this painting is a friend of Renoir, the main focus is the group around the table and along the railing. Renoir beautifully and accurately captured the light highlighting those in the foreground.

Dealer and patron Paul Durand-Ruel bought the painting directly from Renoir. In 1923, it was then purchased by Duncan Phillips. Phillips spent a decade looking for the work to buy it.

This piece resides at The Phillips Collection (Duncan Phillips museum) in Washington, DC.

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