Luncheon of the Boating Party by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Tweet

Luncheon of the Boating Party has been one of the known painting by the French artist Renoir born in 19th century. The painting stands as a celebrative depiction a merry company type gathering. Despite being just a regular day, it boasts about goodness of general life.

Luncheon of the Boating Party Analysis

The depiction is made in the similar strokes of his another painting The Ball at the Moulin de la Galette. Small, light toned strokes for a smooth output. This unique depiction way makes the whole picture a bit blurry as the lines aren’t hard enough in compare to other conventional methods.

Subject matter of the painting is apparent. Some people have gathered at a house’s balcony to have some good  time. Total of 14 figures are there and most of are having the good time being involved in different activities as chatting, eating or contemplating while drinking. People have worn casual apparels with different types of hats.

Outside the balcony we can see some well grown up bushes and beyond them is a blurry scene of a river or a lake in which some boats are sailing. For the location, the house is located on a perfect place to live on and have such lunch-parties.

Friends and acquaintances in the painting

According to historical records, Renoir used to have his friends and acquaintances to stand for the models. The habit is repeated in the current picture, too.

The lady on the lower left playing with a dog is Aline Charigot, Renoir’s future wife. In front of her, a man with a yellow hat is Gustave Caillebotte, a known painter and art patron. Two figure, a man and a girl, on  the left side standing near the railing are his children.

Restoration Controversy

Old paintings tends to lose their intactness over the time after gradually deteriorating. Their restoration is a normal custom. Even famous paintings like The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinciand Mona Lisahas been restored one or multiple times.

In 1954, when the painting was given for a slight restoration just before its appearance in the exhibition at the Louvre, the restorers made some huge mistakes and the painting turned out to lose its color tone, some specks of original paint and other minor damages. The exhibitioners even refused to accept the painting as an original piece from Renoir.

Though, after much effort and representing a video of restoring the painting, the exhibition allowed it in.

The piece is known in the community and liked by many. There are many significant references of the painting in the modern community. Like Renoir’s some other paintings, it reflects the life itself or reflects an image of what an ideal life should be according to the artist. Maybe that’s why people likes his art so much. They don’t try to convey people with heavy meanings or messages. Renoir’s paintings don’t give the viewer a pain in head. They reflect a normal person’s life sublimely and that’s the attachment Renoir gets from his viewers.