Picture This - Lecture 1 - Sunshine and Sensuality

Renoir captures the joie de vivre of a lazy summer lunch on the banks of the Seine at the restaurant La Fournaise. We can feel the breeze, smell the fruit, touch the dog’s coat and hear the animated chatter of a group of artistic friends. This carefree sensual image of inter–class mingling deliberately erases the recent trauma of the Commune of 1871 and heralds the beginning of the Belle Epoque.