More Impressionists

I received an e-mail from Heather Parker saying that you are working on Impressionist Art in her class again this year.  I can hardly wait to see the results.  It would be hard to beat last year's work!

We also went to visit another important place in the history of Impressionist Art.  The guys who went up north with me last February may remember that I wanted to visit an art museum in Washington, DC. (Of course, "snowmageddon" changed that plan!) The Phillips Collection is in a mansion near Mrs. McCauley's daughter Sara's house.  In the Phillips there is a painting called "The Luncheon of the Boating Party", by Pierre Auguste Renoir.  Renoir was one of the most famous Impressionist painters and he did most of his painting in and around Paris.  The "Luncheon of the Boating Party"  is a painting of a group of people enjoying lunch at a restaurant along the river Seine, supposedly after they had just been boating.  The restaurant was called Maison Fournaise, and two of the people in the painting are leaning on a railing and are the son and daughter of the people who own the restaurant.  The other people were friends and acquaintances of Renoir who agreed to pose for him.  That was quite a committment, because it took Renoir almost all summer to finish the painting!

Luncheon of the Boating Party

How does Mr. Z look as Alphonse Fournaise?

This is me as Alphonsine.  Try to imagine a hat.

This is the balcony where the group of models gathered all summer.

Today we plan to go to the Musee D'Orsay and a few other museums that are famous for impressionist collection.  However, those plans may change since there is a huge strike in Paris today and not many buses are running.  We may decide to walk to the museum, but we are not sure if it will be open.  I'll let you know what happens.  Meanwhile, I miss you guys and can hardly wait to see your Impressionist Art!