Rest Magazine

Bottled Poetry

Renoir’s painting “Luncheon of the Boating Party” portrays the light-hearted mood of the French motto libertÉ, ÉgalitÉ, fraternitÉ among young Parisians at the Maison Fournaise in 1881.

By Liz Goldner

With the Seine River as backdrop, friends gather around a table adorned with crystal, wine and a seasonal feast. The work, permanently displayed as part of the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., depicts celebres of the era, including impressionist painter Gustave Caillebotte, actress Jeanne Samary and milliner Aline Charigot, the most vividly portrayed of the group, the only one not flirting with someone and the woman who would later become Renoir’s wife.

Traditionally enamored with all things sensual, the French enjoy imbibing drinks of fermented grapes and admiring paintings of great masters. They were so overjoyed to have “Luncheon” visit their soil for a 2006 traveling exhibition that many art admirers reportedly wept with delight upon seeing the work.

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