
In 19th century France an art movement occurred that turned its back on the more traditional style of painting of the time in favor of emphasizing ordinary subject matter painted by using small thin brushstrokes, open composition, vivid colors, and emphasis on accurately reflecting light as it changes throughout the day.  These painters who subscribed to this new art form were called Impressionists and many of them went on to great fame.  These artists include Paul Cezanne, Edgar Degas, Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.  One well known piece that captures the characteristics of an impressionist painting is Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s “Luncheon of the Boating Party.”  The purpose of this essay is to illustrate Renoir’s use of light, color and composition to create an impressionist painting, one that seems to celebrate a pleasurable afternoon on a warm summer day.

Luncheon of the Boating Party depicts a group of people who are socializing at a restaurant in the suburbs of Paris.  While city scenes initially dominated the composition of the impressionist, the latter stages of the movement saw a new emphasis on subject matter outside the city, in the suburbs.  “Luncheon” takes place at a well know restaurant residing on the banks of a river.  The people in the painting are seemingly part of a boating party that stopped at the restaurant for lunch.

The characters in the painting are most intriguing and they seem to invite us to participate in their gathering.  As one looks at each character one’s imagination seems to entertain so many possibilities regarding their conversation, their thoughts and even their desires.  Women in the painting are lovely and seem to engross the men around them.  In the foreground of the painting there are three people at the table each with their attention focused on someone else.  A woman with her head tilted appears to be talking to the man in the singlet who does not look at her, rather he looks across the table at a woman who is playing with her dog that she has positioned on the table each looking at the other.  A man who stands above the woman with her head tilted appears to be looking at her while she, again, talks to the man next to her.  Is Renoir suggesting that each of these characters is romantically interested in someone else?  

The painting also depicts sensual pleasures like food and wine.  In the foreground of the work, there are grapes painted in rich purple, pears of dull green and bottles of wine standing behind them.  This grouping reveals Renoirs attempt to incorporate still life into the painting.  The impressionist style of small brush strokes leave these items less defined.  However, they stand out due to the contrast of the white tablecloth and china upon which they are placed.  There is also a woman drinking wine in the rear of the painting and a man smoking a pipe behind her.  Portraying sensual pleasures as experienced by the masses or common folk was an impressionist quality.

Renoir’s use of color is also a typical deviation from the painting of traditionalists of mid-nineteenth century France.  Impressionists did not mix their paints to dull their colors in order to make them more closely resemble accuracy of subject matter.  Instead, they counted on vivid and vibrant colors to enhance the painting and to connect their subject matter.  In “Luncheon” the color orange accomplishes this.  The woman holding her dog has vivid orange flowers in her hat.  To her right is a woman leaning against the railing as she talks to a man with a brown hat.  The woman has an orange bow around her waist and orange seams in her clothes.  The woman drinking wine also has orange in her flower and, to her right, between a man with a hat and a woman holding her ears, is a man with orange in his hat and orange stripes in his shirt.  Above all of them is the awning with orange stripes.   Renoir seems to use the vivid color of orange to connect and include all the characters in the painting.

Light and its depiction are perhaps the paintings’ most endearing qualities.  The light in the paining is coming in from the balcony behind the man in the singlet leaning against the rail and since it is this small space through which the light enters, it allows Renoir to use colors that enhance it while the rest of the composition resides in a soft, warm glow.  Light is reflected off the singlets worn by the two men in the painting.  It seems to reflect off of their white sleeveless shirts and illuminate the white of the tablecloth and china.  Light is also seen as it shines on the woman’s hat as she leans against the rail, and on her arms; it is observed on the hat of the woman playing with her dog and the hat of the man staring at her.  

The people in the painting all seem to be leaning into each other.  Heads are turned towards others; a man uses chairs to steady himself while he leans into the conversation taking place with the woman and man in the bottom right of the piece.  A woman leans on the rail as she converses with the man in the brown hat.  Renoir is able to create intimacy by allowing body language to enhance the actions of his characters.  He is able to take a small space and make it seem warm and inviting by making people appear wanting to be close with each other.

Luncheon of the Boating Party seems alive and inviting.  You can almost hear the clacking of china, the clinking of wine glasses and the scraping of chair legs against a wooden floor as you imagine all of the possibilities of conversation and secret desires the painting suggests.  Outside, beyond the gathering, as the orange awning flaps erratically in the wind, sailboats are seen, their sales tilting as the wind exerts its force.  The impressionists and their unique use of open composition, vivid colors and natural light are seen throughout Renoir’s work.  But, it is the beautiful and intriguing portrayal of its characters that make us want to know more about their interests, their desires, and their lives.  Their happy afternoon makes me wonder if there is a restaurant on the water for me, where I too can spend time with good friends, talking and sharing as the light of day and the color all around casts a special glow on an afternoon in my life.  Maybe that time and place are right around the corner.   But, until then, there is Renoir’s masterpiece to enjoy while I wait.  
