3 Art Analysis

The first piece of art that I selected is entitled "Lunch at the Restaurant Fournaise (The Rowers Lunch),” by Pierre Auguste Renoir. This painting, done in 1875, portrays three men on the terrace of a restaurant on an island in the river, a place where rowers often met up. The artist, Renoir, was very well acquainted with the owners of the restaurant, and was probably a frequent customer. There are three men, seemingly engaging in some intellectual conversation, despite their causal appearance and demeanor. The setting seems to be very upscale and serene, and it makes me believe that Renoir must’ve have a very good impression of the place, and that he must be apart of this prestigious society.

The second piece I selected is by Vincent Van Gogh from 1890, entitled "The Drinkers." The painting is of the four ages, or stages, of man. Surrounding a table that has a pitcher sitting atop of it are four beings, a baby drinking from a bottle, and teenage boy drinking from a cup, and middle aged man with a cup in his hand, and an older man, also drinking from his cup. Excluding the baby, who is dressed in a pure white cloth-type material, they all seem somewhat green in appearance, literally. The middle aged man and the old man look sick and very aged, which lead me to believe that the drink they are all taking part in swallowing is alcohol The fact that Van Gogh would paint a picture depicting this leads me to believe that either he was an alcoholic or that alcohol may have been a popular theme during this time in his community that needed to be addressed.

The third and final painting I chose was created in 1943. It is called “Solitaire” and was created by a French painter named Balthus. There is a girl kneeling on a footstool and leaning on a table playing a game of solitaire by herself. Her posture indicates that she is having some personal issues. She looks lost, tired, and worn out. Maybe she is lonely, as solitaire is a one person game. This allows me to think of the Balthus as a person who maybe used to art as a way to vent, and the girl uses solitaire to make herself feel better.