This is the story of Renoir’s famous painting Luncheon of the Boating Party, a work completed on the balcony of the restaurant La 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 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.
