Luncheon of the Boating Party with figures, the other all but empty, save for the two figures of the proprietor's daughter Louise-Alphonsine Fournaise and her brother, Alphonse Fournaise, Jr, which are made prominent by this contrast. In this painting Renoir has captured a great deal of light. The main focus of light is coming from the large opening in the balcony, beside the large singleted man in the hat. The singlets of both men in the foreground and the table-cloth all work together to reflect this light and send it through the whole composition. As he often did in his paintings, Renoir included several of
The Boating Party bequeathed to the Metropolitan Museum, but some works were left to the Havemeyer children and have since ended up elsewhere. Art historian and museum administrator Frederick A. Sweet calls it "One of the most ambitious paintings she ever attempted". His 1966 analysis focusses on the balance of the "powerful dark silhouette of the boatman", the angle between the oar and the arm that "thrusts powerfully into the centre of the composition towards the mother and child" and "delicate, feminine ones". Cassatt placed the horizon at the top of the frame in Japanese fashion. colorplate 75 35 7/16x46 1/8 in. (90