In the mid-19th century, an emerging middle class in Paris sought refuge in suburban towns outside the city to dine, relax, eat, and socialize. Chatou was a small but popular riverside town, and one of Renoir’s favorite places to visit.

In 1857, Alphonse Fournaise opened a small hotel in Chatou, called Maison Fournaise, with a restaurant and boat rental facility. By the time Renoir began visiting the hotel in the 1870s, it had become renowned for its fêtes nautiques (nautical events).

The hotel and restaurant welcomed customers from a variety of social classes and professions: businessmen, society women, artists, writers, and actors. This diversity represented a modern Parisian society fulfilling the French Revolution’s goal of liberté, égalité, fraternité (liberty, equality, fraternity).

The classroom activities below ask students to create their own contemporary luncheon scene, as well as compare primary sources to better understand this time in history.