Luncheon of the Boating Party

Luncheon of the Boating Party – Susan Vreeland
4 stars

“I regret I must interrupt your gastronomic delight in order to finish what we came for,” Auguste said.

Imagine a large group of animated people with a wide variety of interests and backgrounds. They are all enjoying a gourmet lunch, good wine and the intersection of four or five different simultaneous conversations. Now ask them to freeze in place for several hours while the light lasts. This is the task of Auguste Renoir as he painted his Luncheon of the Boating Party. Vreeland’s book gives names, personality and personal histories to each of the faces in the Renoir’s masterpiece. Renoir captures la vie moderne in one moment in time. Vreeland captures this modern life with show more all of its social complexity. She also describes the seemingly insurmountable difficulties involved in the creation of Renoir’s painting. I feel as if I were privileged to be the proverbial fly on the wall anonymously watching all of the action. (Although, since it is Renoir, I’d have to be something prettier, a butterfly or a ladybug.)

I began this as an audio book, but I did not like the reader at all. It worked much better to read it. At first I had difficulty keeping track of the characters. I know the painters and writers of this time period by their last names. When Vreeland used only first names, I was confused. It helped a great deal to open the website for the book. It has some important background information, thumbnails of all the paintings mentioned in the text, and each character is identified with a close-up from the painting.

As soon as I finished the book, I wanted to get a flight to Washington D.C. and head straight to the Phillips Gallery to see the painting. show less

The Impressionists, Renoir, convivial gatherings along the Seine, various shades of love, the birth of a masterpiece, and visuals, visuals, visuals. What's not to love? I started this one last year and got sidetracked by other books that had firm deadlines but kept sneaking back to this whenever I had a spare moment to sink into it. And in all fairness, that is not the way to read this expansive and lush novel. The way to read it is what I did for the second half: luxuriate in it and it alone.

At the opening of the novel, Renoir is just about penniless and desperate to create a new painting that will answer the criticism that the Impressionists as a group are incapable of the kind of important, lasting work that they have striven for in show more their break with traditional French art. Renoir's vision is a statement definitively refuting this while getting his work hung in the prestigious Paris Salon. Choosing to paint the aftermath of a vibrant, genial luncheon composed of friends and models, the painting is larger in scope than anything the Impressionists have attempted before. The novel tells the tale of the conception and execution of the painting as well as the tales of the people involved, touching on the terrible recent history post Franco-Prussian War, the different sections of Paris, class distinction, and enduring love.

The different characters in the painting all revolve around the character of Renoir; he being, in many cases, their only tie to each other. But amazingly, considering the sheer number of models posing, Vreeland manages to make them distinct personalities with different back stories and all come off as sympathetic. She manages to tie in much history without the book coming off as textbookish. Her research both into the art, Renoir's life, and the local Paris times is obviously thorough and well done. The writing is lush and very visual and will make the reader wish to be at the idyllic Maison Fournaise on the Seine as well. There seems to be a sun-dappled wash over the whole of the book. The end of the book is never in any doubt (after all, the painting is on the cover of the book) and Renoir's life is fairly well documented. But the journey with these characters, the gentleness of the love stories and disappointments, and the insight into Renoir's artistic genius, makes this a welcome and appealing read. Fans of fictionalized art histories will love this one but even those with no interest in the Impressionists will find much to please them in these pages. show less

While it’s historical fiction, this novel has much to say about art. I loved that it succeeds in giving the reader a glimpse into how much effort, coordination, not to mention talent, went into creating a single painting.

The cast of characters gathered to model for Renoir’s masterpiece, “The Luncheon of the Boating Party”, is vividly and sympathetically portrayed. They are a very patched group – from the self-sacrificing and clever Alphonsine and her serious brother to the completely frivolous and pleasure-seeking Angele. You get a glimpse into each character’s way of life and values. Renoir’s struggles with his painting technique and the eternal artist’s problem of getting the necessary funding or finding a patron for show more his paintings are well described and based in fact.

Perhaps what I liked least in the novel was Renoir himself. He just wasn’t a very sympathetic character, somehow, mostly focused on finding the right colors for his painting and avoiding emotional responsibility in his many friendships and relationships.

All in all, however, I’d recommend this book to anyone interested in Impressionist art or in 19th century Paris. show less

Although I usually hate fictionalized biography, I enjoyed this imagined account of one of Renoir's best-known works, and, unexpectedly, enjoy the painting itself more now that I know something about its setting and models. It is a warm and sunny painting, and Vreeland's book captures its spirit.

This is the story of Renoir’s famous painting Luncheon of the Boating Party, a work completed on the balcony of the restaurant Maison Fournaise, just outside of Paris. Combining historical fact with Ms. Vreeland’s vivid imagination we learn how the painting came into existence and how the models were chosen and gathered, as well as a sense of the time and place. The models’ identities are largely based on historical fact, but as with all works of historical fiction the author uses her colorful imagination in guessing their conversations, relationships and emotions. At the beginning of the story, Auguste Renoir is struggling even to cover the costs of purchasing several tubes of paint, but by the time the painting is finished the show more reader gets a sense that Luncheon represents a fortunate turning point in his career.

There is something compelling about an author bringing to life the story of a work of art. The characters become familiar and spark curiosity about who they were, the location becomes a real place one could visit, and the art itself becomes an intimate friend. Susan Vreeland first piqued my interest with her biographical historical fiction, The Passion of Artemisia. Her background in and her passion for fine art is clearly a prerequisite in producing a story like this. The descriptions of the colors, clothing and food I can only describe as “delicious” and nearly caused me to feel that I was actually there among them.

One suggestion: Print a color copy of the painting to reference as you read. Otherwise you’ll be flipping to look at the cover approximately 3,496 times. show less

What a great story! The author actually researched every person in the painting Luncheon of the Boating Party (except 1 whose identity is debatable) and Renoir himself, and made it all into a super cool historical fiction story. The story spans the 2 months Renoir took to paint it outside. Even though there are 14 people in the painting, Renoir, the paint store owners, and art dealers stories to hear, it didn't drag.

My favorite part was a story about the girl who's leaning on her hand on the railing in the painting. She recalls starving in her house during Franco-Prussian War (before the painting). She was lucky to get horse meat rationed to her. During the painting she decides to go back to that old house and finds it's now a food show more store. She goes inside and has an incredible moment looking at all this food and remembering starving on the floor. It was a moving scene.

Also I learned that Renoir and Monet were friends in real life! Whoa. What a time.

If you enjoy art or historical fiction you will probably like Luncheon of the Boating Party. show less

Audio book performed by Karen White
3***

In the summer of 1880 Pierre-Auguste Renoir painted what was to become one of his most instantly recognizable masterpieces, depicting a gathering of friends enjoying an afternoon on a café terrace along the Seine near Paris. His fourteen models included, among others, a famous painter, an art collector, a celebrated actress, the café owner’s daughter, a war hero, an Italian journalist, and a laundress. This was shortly after the Franco-Prussian war, and social constraints were loosening as Parisians embraced la vie moderne – pursuing pleasure and striving for a joyful life. It was also a time when the Impressionist group was being torn apart by diverging viewpoints and changing show more styles.

Vreeland has written several novels about the world of art - The Forest Lover (about Emily Carr), The Girl in Hyacinth Blue (about a Vermeer painting) and Clara and Mr Tiffany (about Tiffany’s decorative arts studio). She bases her works of fiction on solid research into the life and times of the artist/artwork, and uses her imagination to embellish the details of conversation, thoughts and feelings to make the scenes come alive. The word portraits she “paints” are as vivid as the works on art which inspire her. Using seven different characters to narrate this work gives us a broader perspective on the era and helps the reader understand the significance of the exciting changes Renoir’s painting conveyed. However, I found my mind wandering and I did not feel as connected to the people (or the art) as I have in other novels by Vreeland.

I wonder if this is because I listened to the audio rather than read the text. Karen White does a credible job on the audio – her pacing is good, her pronunciation of French apparently accurate (I don’t speak French, so how would I know, really). Still, the art of which Vreeland writes is a visual medium and I can’t help but wonder if I would have been more engaged if I had been using my eyes rather than listening.

Vreeland begins with a quote: To my mind, a picture should be something pleasant, cheerful, and pretty, yes pretty! There are too many unpleasant things in life as it is without creating still more of them. - Pierre-Auguste Renoir
I did have the hardcover edition of the book handy, which has several color plate reproductions of not only Le dejeuner des canotiers but other Renoir paintings also referenced in the novel. I found myself constantly referring to the paintings, studying the composition and use of color, noticing how a daub of white here or a streak of lavender there would enhance and define the figures, the setting, and the artist’s vision. And I must thank Vreeland for calling my attention to these details and helping me understand what made Renoir’s work more than a just a pretty painting, but a masterpiece. As for the novel, in my opinion it is a pretty book – pleasing and enjoyable, but not a masterpiece. show less