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 Painted Skin into English as "The Painted Skin" by the British sinologist Herbert A. Giles and was included in his 1880 translation of "Strange Tales". It reappeared with modifications in a subsequent edition, published in 1908. Since then, many other translators, including John Minford (2006), have published their translations of "The Painted Skin". On the surface, "The Painted Skin" is a story of a lustful scholar's encounter with a demon who disguises itself as a lady. Pu Songling intended for the story to be viewed as a parable of human desire and its negative consequences, and emphasised this with his appended comment,