I remember being fascinated by Impressionists back in high school, as I wandered the Museum of Modern Art in New York City with my friends. I especially loved VanGogh and sitting in front of Monet's huge Waterlilies. This was a fascinating look into the beginning of the impressionist movement and the artistic community of Paris of 1880. Renoir gets this idea for the painting as a result of a criticism of impressionists by Zola.
I have read of the lively world of artists and writers in Paris in the early 20th century, and am glad to see that this same energy was there 150 years earlier. Renoir has a passion for art, for beautiful women (he has to be in love with each female subject), never has enough money, but has supporters and friends. He turns to many of these to gather the 12 people he wants in this painting of a luncheon by the river, getting ready to go boating. Apparently there were specific clothing styles worn for boating. He gathers people of various classes, so a couple of guys are just in their undershirts, while others have on suits with hats. For a while he had 13 models, an unlucky number, and then squeezed in a 14th, the only one unidentified by art historians. Since Renoir insisted on painting only from actual models, he had to get these people to commit to come every Sunday for a couple of months. The story of getting the models, their complex lives, their interactions, were engaging. One of his former lovers could only come once, but he managed to finish her portrait in that time. The lady that was supposed to be most prominent was a woman of means, but could not follow his directions, so Renoir went looking for another model and ran into Aline, a cheerful young woman with a dog, that ended up in the painting too, and who he ended up marrying. My favorite was Alphonsine, the daughter of the restaurant owner. She was widowed and fell in love with Renoir and helped him complete this painting in practical ways and supporting him morally. Some of the story is told from her point of view. Renoir liked her, but did not fall in love as with some of the other women. It was also fascinating to listen to how he painted, dabbing colors here and there across the whole painting, and getting totally engrossed.
Since this was another book I listened to, I wish I had checked out the actual book earlier, as it had the kinds of things I crave - a color image of the painting (I did get it online and had it in the car as I listened), images of a couple of the other paintings mentioned, a map of Paris with the places mentioned marked off, including La Maison Fournaise, the restaurant at which he painted this work and which was west of Paris, reachable by train or boat along the Seine. There was also a sketch of La Maison Fournaise, which helps visualize the friends gathered to eat up on the balcony.
In the Author's Note at the end, Vreeland explains how she did her research and lists where she modified the facts a bit to serve her story. She also told the story of the painting itself - who owned it, sold it, bought it. In 1923 it was sold to Duncan Phillips for his Phillips Gallery in Washington, DC. I was just in Washington, and when I could not get into my hotel room, a friend suggested lunch around the corner in the Phillips Gallery. I had forgotten that is where the painting is located, but as I walked up to the building, there was a huge reproduction of part of the Luncheon on a pillar by the door. I was thrilled. To be able to actually see the real painting after reading how it was created was amazing. It was the most alive painting I have see in a long time. I will have to go back again sometime, plus I really should look at more Renoir paintings - he was amazing.
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