About this title: A bestselling author returns with a vivid exploration of one of the most beloved paintings in history: Renoir's "Luncheon of the Boating Party."
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Description: Good. Purchasing this book supports the King County Library System Foundation. Thriftbooks and KCLSF have partnered to help raise additional funds for the library system. Ex-Library book-will contain library markings. Book has appearance of light use with no easily noticeable wear. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Very good. Book has appearance of light use with no easily noticeable wear. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. 0670038547 Former library item may have library binding and show stamps, stickers or other marks. Items not meeting quality expectations may be returned. Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. read more
Description: Good. 0670038547 Former library item may have library binding and show stamps, stickers or other marks. Items not meeting quality expectations may be returned. Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. read more
Description: Good. 0786295090 Former library item may have library binding and show stamps, stickers or other marks. Items not meeting quality expectations may be returned. Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. read more
Description: Good. 0670038547 Former library item may have library binding and show stamps, stickers or other marks. Items not meeting quality expectations may be returned. Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. read more
Description: Good. 0670038547 Former library item may have library binding and show stamps, stickers or other marks. Items not meeting quality expectations may be returned. Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin
Date Published: 2007
Description: Very Good. This is a very nice paperback copy. No names, no marks, no stickers. Binding is tight and square. Text is clean and bright. Slight curl to cover. Careful packaging and fast shipping. We recommend PRIORITY MAIL for even faster delivery! read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Viking Adult
Date Published: 2007-05-03
ISBN-13:9780670038541ISBN:0670038547
Description: New. New, unread, unused & in perfect condition with no damaged or missing pages. This is a pre-release collectible paperback with same cover. This book is the same isbn, but is a paperback. Great Copy. Ships Lightning Fast. read more
Description: FINE. Superb, crisp, clean, unused, unabridged 14-CD set-still in original shrinkwrap with remainder mark to edge-Great, gift quality! read more
Binding: Audio CD
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Date Published: 5-3-07
ISBN-13:9780143142102ISBN:0143142100
Description: FINE. Superb, crisp, clean, unused, unabridged 14-CD set-still in original shrinkwrap with remainder mark to edge-Great, gift quality! 0.65 lbs. read more
"I really wanted to like this book. BUT it was over written, much too long, too much flowery description; trying to convey the thoughts and feelings of an artist came across to me as melodramatic and artificial. I am an artist. I am a colorist...but enough already describing the mixing of every color. I finished the book and endured some of the unnecessary subplots. Paris is my favorite city; I enjoyed the historical references. I learned what I wanted to know about the concept for the painting and the people in the scene but was really disappointed with the execution of the story. In the author's notes at the end, I was glad to have learned that the author tried to include as many facts as possible in the telling."
"I read this because I always loved the painting and now love it even more. The story is told from the view of several of the models, though always in third person, and manages to capture a group of men and women who, faced with their share of hardships and sorrow, manages to find joy and beauty in their lives. The author has paid careful attention to details in the painting and to the published accounts of its composition, but has sacrificed nothing to her story, and she has expanded it to include the bohemian world of Paris working itself out of the shock of the Prussian war and the Commune."
"This book depicts Renoir's efforts to create one his most famous Impressionist paintings. It was our book club selection so I stuck with it to the end though I found almost any excuse I could to repeatedly put the book down and do other things . . . house cleaning, laundry, weeding, washing my hair . . . It is over 400 pages long and should have been shortened to about 100. I found it difficult to care about any of the characters, except perhaps Alphonsine, and that was maringal. Much of the dialogue was boring and insipid and the author's frequent use of French vocabulary, which I did not understand was frustrating, as was constantly having to look at the picture on the book cover to follow her reference to characters in the scene. The best thing I can say about it is I am so glad I am done with it!"
"This book takes on the gigantic task of recreating the colorful Parisian milieu and events in the life and times of Pierre-August Renoir as well as speculating on how he came to create his masterpiece of the book's title (original title: Dejeuner des Canotiers)in 1880. During the lean and bitter years following France's humiliating defeat in the Franco-Prussian War (1870) a new group of maverick painters burst forth in the Parisian art scene. They were young, bold, gifted, and iconoclastic--determined to use their new form of painting--Impressionism--to depict "la vie moderne." From their first exhibit in 1874, there was a spirit of solidarity among these neophytes--Renoir, Claude Monet, Alfred Sisely, Gustave Caillebotte, Edgar Degas, Camille Pisarro, et al. However, by 1880, writer Emile Zola had attacked Impressionism in print as a failed movement. Furthermore, the Impressionist group was breaking up. Some, like Renoir, were reluctantly turning back to the traditional Salon to exhibit works and regain a little security. Others were trying to keep the original Impressionist group together, and others, led by the immensely talented, but bossy and peevish Degas, were organizing yet another new group. This same year, the 40-year-old Renoir, still prolific and energetic, but unmarried and living from hand-to-mouth, knew he needed a real blockbuster painting to secure his career and financial future, as well as prove that Zola was wrong about Impressionism. As much as we all love this Renoir painting, who among us has ever stopped to consider what kind of planning and work went into it--buying a particularly large canvas and numerous tubes of paint (on credit), choosing, paying and posing the models, hoping they cooperate, get along with each other, and show up at the Maison Fournaise on the Seine at Chatou, a small town outside of Paris, for the scheduled modeling days--seven consecutive summer Sundays, while the light remains just right. While reading this book, I laser-printed a black and white copy of a photo of this painting, took a pen, and tried to keep track of who was posing where; and this wasn't always easy because models would come and go as Renoir gamely worked and worked to make a beautiful, but casual scene of ordinary people enjoying themselves at a cafe after a day out on their boats. Watch for the prima donna model who huffs out in a fit of pique because she wants Renoir to paint her in full face instead of profile. Look for the the replacement model, laundress Aline Charigot in the left foreground of the painting with the little dog. She made a sacrifice of her own, spending her own last sou on fabric to make the exact kind of dark blue boating dress Renoir requested, and showing up for her first sitting with it still pinned together. Aline and her pup not only added a lot of charm to the painting, but also to Renoir's personal life. (She eventually became his wife and mother of his sons). Each of the other 13 people in the painting has an interesting story as well. Even if you don't care much for art, this is a great period read for late 19th-century France. There is even a reference to a young architect-engineer, former lover of one of the other models, who died before he could help his friend Gustave Eiffle create a new-fangled tower made of metal and bolts."
We guarantee every item's condition, as described on Alibris. If you are not satisfied that an item is as described, return your purchase for a refund.
![Luncheon of the Boating Party [Audiobook]](http://images.alibris.com/isbn/9780143142102_t.gif)
rating
