This is one of a series of paintings by Renoir that focus on rowing along the Seine River. The airy, relaxed mood, evident in the subject and poses of the diners, is repeated in Renoir’s handling of paint. The figures in the painting are lazy and replete after their summer lunch. As well, built into the notion of leisure and pleasure is the sense of nostalgia, for the joys of eating and drinking are only fleetingly available in work’s off-hours. Renoir’s long brushstrokes blending into each other in the foreground have a sensuous appeal that is reiterated in the slightly blurred still life.
