Do you love French Impressionist painting, French food and French wine? Of course you do, so if you’re going to be anywhere near Washington DC next month you’ll want to drop in at the Phillips Collection. To commemorate its 90th anniversary, America’s first museum of modern art is spotlighting the Renoir masterpiece Luncheon of the Boating Party.
In partnership with the Phillips, Washington’s Sofitel Lafayette Square will be translating the spirit of Renoir’s festive boathouse scene into a dining celebration. Since you’ll be hungering for a real-life feast after feasting your eyes on Renoir’s painting, you’ll want to make your way to the corner of Lafayette Square, bordering the White House. There, at Sofitel’s iCi Urban Bistro, chef Franck Loquet will be offering prix fixe lunch and dinner menus designed to reflect Renoir’s oh-so-French spirit of joie de vivre.
During the month of September, the Bistro’s Renoir-inspired 3-course menus ($40 for lunch, $60 for dinner) include traditional French appetizers such as Burgundy-style Escargots, oeufs en meurette (eggs poached in red wine), and warm goat cheese salad, with main course choices including items such as Coq au Vin, sea bass roasted in salt crust, and salmon with sorrel beurre blanc. Among the featured wines will be Domaine Ott Rosé; Domaine Bourillon Dorleans Vouvray; Lauverjat “Moulin des Vrilleres” Sancerre; and Louis Jadot Pinot Noir Bourgogne.
I’ve stood in front of Renoir’s boating party painting many times. My gaze inevitably settles on the brunette sitting towards the back of the scene, near the center of the canvas. She seems to have just lifted a wine glass to her lips. Some critics think she looks bored, but to me her eyes are smiling, as if she’s enjoying what she’s tasting. The whole scene strikes me as one of idealized summery pleasures, heightened by the remnants of a just-finished meal, half-filled wine bottles and empty wine glasses on the table.
The languid poses, the fragments of sentences frozen in time, and the smiling, slightly flushed faces are all a reminder that wine is the beverage of simple enjoyment and conviviality. Yes, some of us do like to analyze what’s in our glass, to compare tasting notes with like-minded folks, and to brush up on the names of obscure grape varieties and chateaux. For most of the world’s wine drinkers, however, a glass of vin blanc or rouge is merely about the simple delight that can be found in good wine, good food and good friendships. Whether you’re gathering with friends in a boathouse, a bistro or a backyard, savor the moment, and with luck, the expression of attentive pleasure that I see in Renoir’s model will flit across your face too.
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