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Luncheon of the Boating Party
By Susan Vreeland
Susan Vreeland brings Auguste Renoir to life, by telling the story of how he created Luncheon of the Boating Party, one of his most famous paintings. The vibrant characters that posed for the painting on the terrace of the restaurant, La Maison Fournaise in Chatou each have a story to tell, and seven of the fourteen make up the body of the book.
The restaurant overlooked the boaters on the Seine and was near Paris. Parisians flocked to the restaurant and boathouse on weekends in the nineteenth century.
Renoir and his group of Impressionist artists were under attack; the marketing of art was changing drastically. Renoir was short of money because he was not willing to give up his beliefs on how to create what would become Impressionist masterpieces, that would delight art lovers forever.
The models in the paintings, as described by Vreeland, take us into their lives which include the cafes, salons, artists' studios and even the Follies-Bergere. This was a time of great change in France, created partly by the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War and the Communes which affected everyone.
In late summer of 1880, Renoir decided he had to paint then , in order to prove his theories of art - the light on the terrace would only be perfect for 7 to 8 weeks, and because of the occupations of the models, that meant only 7 to 8 Sundays to complete his work. He was poor, but already had a reputation as an artist, so one by one they rallied behind him to make it possible to complete this glorious painting. He wanted to showcase modern life of that period and this painting makes you want to taste , feel, touch and see - to join the group on that terrace during those glorious days. Renoir was at a crossroads in his own life, as an artist, a lover, and a friend.
The painting turned out to be one of his best, and now resides in Washington, D.C., owned by the Phillips Collection.
This book was first published in 2007, and is now out in trade paper, with the painting of Luncheon of the Boating Party making up the front and back covers.
When my book group read this book, we found at our meeting that we all had been busy trying to find the proper models in the painting to go with the lives portrayed in this outstanding novel. We also wished we could have been included in the delicious luncheons provided by the restaurant on the terrace after the modeling and painting sessions were over.
Susan Vreeland is well known for several excellent novels of historical fiction about the world of artists. Read and enjoy.
Published: Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street
New York, NY 10014 U.S.
Copyright: © 2007 by Susan Vreeland,
Reviewed: 07/15/08 - 255
Copyright: © 2008 by Joan G. Smith
255
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