Precious gem of Chatou (part 2) - Maison Fournaise, Chatou
Dear readers, even you might not be a person who knows a lot about art, but I possibly believe that most of you might come across the painting, which depicted a luncheon gathering of a group of chic people under a shaded terrace somewhere in a countryside, if it doesn’t ring a bell, no worries, when you took a look with the photo below, you’ll know which painting I am talking about:
In case if you don’t know, this famous painting was painted by the esteemed late French Impressionism artist, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, titled “Luncheon of the Boating Party” (circa 1880 – 1881, in French as “Le déjeuner des canotiers”), and it’s currently exhibited in The Phillips Collection in Washington DC USA. I came across this painting about three decades ago when I was interested about Impressionism paintings, also I started to keen on learning more about this legendary French artist’s work. With the flourishing F&B industry, some even use the image of this painting as their ads to express the joy and culture of gastronomy, even the art of living, as the result, there’s no surprise that you might came across this however without knowing the full details of what this painting is about, or who painted it. Now you know who painted it, but do you know where is the scene of this painting took place? It was a coincident when I was planning my birthday trip to Paris/France earlier this year, that I want to pick a special place to have lunch on my big day in Paris, however, it has to be somewhere that can keep me out of the Olympic crowd and chaos to enjoy this wonderful moment and celebration. When I was contemplating where is the most ideal place that I can have a delightful lunch nearby the perfume museum, Musée Dorin Paris, after my visit there, somehow I discovered this incredible place, and that is Maison Fournaise.
Located in Chatou, the west side of Paris, on the small island called “Île des Impressionnistes” right in the middle of the Seine River, this establishment has a deep association and history with legendary French artists, intellectuals, affluents and politician back in almost a century ago. Its restaurant, Restaurant Maison Fournaise, a 3-storey-French-country-house style premises, with a deep green iron wrought fenced balcony, topped with the white and deep orange colored striped canopy shielded at the outdoor area on the 2nd floor, that is where Renoir’s famous “Luncheon of the Boating Party” took place!
Originally it was a land that was purchased by Alphonse Fournaise and his wife in 1857 as a small hotel, restaurant and boat rental place for the new tourist trade, Maison Fournaise has become a rendezvous for famous artists (in particular Impressionists artists including Claude Monet, Berthe Morisot, Edgar Degas, and of course, Pierre-Auguste Renoir), intellectuals (such as French poet novelist, Guillaume Apollinaire; French writer, Guy de Maupassant) and affluents to enjoy their wonderful pastime there with a picturesque Seine river view as the backdrop, watching people rowing while surrounded themselves with like-minded people, to exchange their intellectual ideas and thoughts. Not to mention, Chatou is the place where the first railroad was built and be reached from Paris, historically, it has marked the milestone of its connection with the fabulous and artistic life of the French nation’s capital. While the establishment closed in 1906 and remained abandoned until its restoration commenced in 1990 by the town of Chatou, as well as the assistance of American private funds from the Friends of French Art, which makes us to resee the establishment’s former beauty nowadays.
Now let’s go back to something I mentioned from my previous blog, do you remember about my encounter with the President of Maison Dorin Paris, Mr. Bashar Nasri, and the ‘arrangement’? In fact during that morning, I was in a hurry (due to the train delay and my mistake of missing the train station) to go to Maison Fournaise, first of all to visit their museum to see the history of the house and it’s steep association with French impressionism art before their tour cuts off at 11:20am, and second but also the most importantly, my lunch which I booked in advance to visit the table where Renoir’s painting took place, and I have promised myself to take a photo there in person to mark it as a special memory for my big day; FYI, the table where Renoir’s painting took place is not open for public booking, all regular patrons can only have their table on the other side of the balcony area. I explained to Bashar about my plan during my visit at his perfume museum, and the reason why I had that idea in Maison Fournaise, unexpectedly, the kind perfume President gave me a surprise. He said he’ll offer me a lift to Maison Fournaise, and took me to the restaurant by himself, in that moment I was completely exhilarated and feeling anxious at the same time, as much as I am thankful to Bashar’s kindness to drive me there in person, interrupting the busy businessman’s work day is not exactly my plan, and I was a bit puzzled at the beginning but I felt that he might have a much better story about Maison Fournaise to tell me during the ride.
By the time of our arrival, I was literally excited by being in this historic and artistic location in person, to see the actual view of the Seine river and the establishment, then Bashar told me to take a photo with the big standee which Renoir’s legendary painting was printed and erected. Upon entered to the building, we climbed up to the 2nd floor where the restaurant located, the interior is welcoming and unquestionably artistic, I can feel the elegance and nostalgia of the fin-de-siècle art scene, they even preserved some of the original art walls from almost a century ago to create the authentic atmosphere! A wait staff then walked us both to the table, where Renoir’s “Luncheon of the Boating Party” took place, at that moment, I started to realize that it was the arrangement that Bashar meant! Feeling surreal and surprising at the same time, being seated at this exact table of the famous painting, and having a lunch with the perfume brand’s President is something that I have never expected on this year’s birthday!
Now we have the perfect spot, the tranquil atmosphere a delightful lunch accompany, and now let’s talk about the food. Homage to the root of the classic French cooking, Restaurant Maison Fournaise dedicated their effort to offer the authentic and traditional French cuisine, by using the most fresh ingredient with a touch of down-home French cooking method, however maintaining the standard and quality like any high end Parisian restaurants, thanks to the effort and culinary talent of Chef Christian Le Squer, who is a Michelin 3-star chef, and, Chef Hakima El Berrimi, a Michelin-nominated chef herself, the dishes that they prepared are one of the most memorable French cuisine that will impress foodies that are looking for something approachable yet possessed the artistry and savoir-faire of classic French culinary style, that is qualitative and delicious. I jumped right into the main course with the Snacked salmon escalopes & crunchy vegetables in escabeche, a simple yet a colorful dish with the freshest ingredient, succulent salmon filet combined with the flavor of the greenery freshness from the veggie, a great summer dish by the side of the balcony enjoying the breeze from the Seine river, and the fresh air in the tranquil suburban island of Paris.
While for the dessert, I have ordered the mixed fresh fruit salad, by the time the dish arrived, unexpectedly there was a candle lit in the middle of the dessert, and then Bashar started to sing the birthday song as I was feeling surprised and perplexed at the same time! Something that I have never think of on my big day but it happened with multiple pleasant surprises! With this experience, it has become one of the most memorable moment during this Paris trip of mine. After I blew the candle and finished up my dessert, Bashar and I had a very light-hearted conversation, not only chatting about his perfume business but also about the place that we were having lunch in, here at Maison Fournaise, his past in making films, and then, he asked me to do something for him, which is, to read a script for him that he’s about to work on for an interview. I really didn’t know why but I began to feel something, perhaps it’s solely my sentiment or over-thinking romanticism, but I felt that Bashar picked me to read that script for him over this for some reason, maybe it’s easier to have a someone who has an artistic flair to read it and make it sound more intriguing, or he saw me through that I possessed certain sensibility that reading that script by me can give him certain comfort and harmony, also as a second thought, don’t you think those characters appeared in Renoir’s “Luncheon of the Boating Party” almost a century ago, some of them might even doing the exact same thing that we were doing there? (except they might be reading the context through an actual book instead of from an electronic device!) didn’t the whole scenario come in full circle after about a century later? I don’t know, but for sure this encounter will leave such a deep impression in my life, and I will always remember Maison Fournaise, and feeling grateful to meet Bashar, plus feeling how fortunate I was to be able to be there.
Before wrapping up this long blog, I would like to quote the information which I found from The Phillips Collection’s website about this famous “Luncheon of the Boating Party” by Renoir, to unveil each character in this painting, let’s see how well did you know about them:
“Most of the models in the painting, all friends of the artist, have been identified. In the right foreground, Angèle, one of Renoir’s frequent models, turns her head toward the standing Maggiolo, a journalist. The painter Gustave Caillebotte sits backward in his chair and stares across the table at Aline Charigot, Renoir’s future wife, who coos at her terrier, while the burly Alphonse Fournaise Jr., son of the restaurant’s owner, leans against the balcony’s railing surveying the scene. In the center, Baron Raoul Barbier, a former cavalry officer, is seated with his back to the viewer speaking to the woman resting on her elbows on the railing, who is thought to be Alphonsine Fournaise, the daughter of the proprietor. Across the table from Barbier is the actress Ellen Andrée, drinking from a glass. Behind her, the top-hatted Charles Ephrussi, a banker and editor of Gazette des beaux-arts, chats with Jules Laforgue, poet, critic, and Ephrussi’s personal secretary. In the upper right, Eugène Pierre Lestringuez, an official in the Ministry of the Interior, laughs with Jeanne Samary, a famous actress with the Comédie Française, while the artist Paul Lhote, a close friend of Renoir’s, cocks his head. Renoir has immortalized his friends to such a degree that the image is “not anectdotal but monumental.” Marjorie Phillips was inspired to write: “In the light of time it does not matter much who the figures are. They are every man, all people.” Renoir’s magnus opus is a very tightly composed work, uniting within one image the time-honored compositional traditions of figure painting, still life and landscape.”
Special thanks to Mr. Bashar Nasri of Maison Dorin Paris, and Restaurant Maison Founaise, Chatou.
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