Fast-food of Canotiers after Auguste Renoir

Celebrating the incomparable joy of life and the luminous vibration of impressionism, this bold composition confronts the high gastronomy of yesteryear with our mass culture. The public visually enjoys a festive parody of the painting “Le Fast-food des Canotiers”, originally brushed with genius by the French painter Auguste Renoir. The master loved to freeze on canvas the lively and carefree lunches of the bourgeoisie on the river terraces. The unexpected intrusion of fast-food giants in the middle of an upper-class gathering joyfully shakes up all the codes.

On the sunny terrace sheltered by the famous striped umbrella, the nature of the banquet has radically changed. The immaculate tablecloth, once garnished with refined dishes, is now dominated by an imposing dark soda bottle and American hamburgers dripping with sauce. In the foreground, the muscular oarsman devours an imposing sandwich instead of savoring wine, while conversing with the young woman with the dog. In the background, the difference is even more striking: the iconic Kentucky cook with the white goatee smiles directly at the viewer. Further on, the frightening face of the mascot clown with red hair bluntly invites himself among the elegant hatted guests.

The genius of the practitioner bursts forth in his prodigious management of the fragmented pictorial touches specific to impressionism. The fluid insertion of consumerist elements and popular mascots in this vibrant luminous palette attests to a great chromatic agility. The richness of execution testifies to a sincere love for oil painting.