“Luncheon of the Boating Party” by Pierre-Auguste Renoir
(PCM) The “Luncheon of the Boating Party” is a famous impressionist painting by artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir that was created between the years of 1880 and 1881. It was included in the seventh Impressionist art exhibition in 1882 and was voted best painting in the show by three art critics at the time.
The painting, combining figures, still-life, and landscape in one work, depicts a group of Renoir’s friends relaxing on a balcony at the Maison Fournaise restaurant 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.
“Art is about emotion; if art needs to be explained it is no longer art. ” – Pierre-Auguste Renoir