So many of Renoir's paintings have, for me, that rare quality that makes me want to be in them. They depict scenes of such rural, idyllic bliss where the characters appear to be lost in some kind of other hedonistic world. He was a leading Impressionist painter and this picture was very well received at the Impressionist exhibition of 1882. The location is at a restaurant in a hotel in Chatou on the Seine outside of Paris.
Look at the dreamy expressions on the faces of the ladies in this painting as though it was all the same face:
The painting combines elements of still life, portraiture and landscape with a strong diagonal divide provided by the railing, which is still evident in the present day view, below.
I'm listening to John Williams playing the lovely Tango in D by Albeniz. I'm a great admirer of Albeniz. You can listen to it here.
8 comments:
Hi Bazza - oh how I envy them ... but we'll be back. Renoir's work always brings out the life of the place, then the cheer of the people being there to enhance it ... and yes his ladies give off a gentle hue of loving life. Wonderful painting for this month - thank you ... stay safe - Hilary
This picture has been done in sculpture at the wonderful Grounds for Sculpture in NJ. I am sure that I have a picture of myself joining this group. It was a beautiful luncheon but some of the guests were a little stiff.
Hello Bazza, The transparent glasses and bottles in the foreground are a tour de force.
The man in the top hat is Charles Ephrussi, the man who formed the original collection of netsuke in Edmund de Waal's book The Hare with Amber Eyes. For the long version, and about Ephrussi's friendship with Renoir, see that book.
--Jim
Hilary: It's world that probably never existed as portrayed but we can dream! The painting is a thing of wonderous beauty though.
Arleen: That sound's like a great thing to have seen. This picture must be in the top ten most popular ever made.
Jim: There are huge number of cultural references that originate from this picture. A great deal is known about the guests that day and I actually wrote something about them but I tend to make posts fairly short; I don't believe people read very long posts.
Renoir (1841–1919) seemed to love the company of women and depicted them tenderly. Yet he never married as a young man, marrying Aline only in 1890 when he was 50. He did continue painting his wife's portrait after the marriage, but not with the same young, dreamy beauty as his other female models.
Hels: But he did have five children, one of whom was Jean Renoir the film director.
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