Party of Impressions

Renoir made the ‘luncheon of the boating party’ painting after the end of the Franco-German war in 1988. The joyous party scene at the Maison Fournaise restaurant along the river Seine in the painting includes many celebrities as well as his future wife. (She is the one petting the dog.)

When I took this picture at the Phillips gallery in Washington DC, I was intrigued by the contrast of the raucous party scene in the painting with the serene and tranquil setting of the museum space holding the painting. Both sets of people in the picture seemed to be enjoying moments in their own time in their own way.

Since I took the picture in 2016, we have had tumultuous experiences with the pandemic followed by the resurgence of the Cold War-like international environment, not to mention the widening domestic schisms with extreme political views and spiraling out climate change.

All I can say is that time is just a series of fleeting moments, some joyful, some serene and some anxious. Do the best you can make out of them. That is my ‘Impression’!