The Maison Fournaise (; "House of Fournaise") is a restaurant and museum located on the

Île des Impressionnistes The Île des Impressionnistes (), or Île de Chatou, is an island in the Seine located to the west of Île-de-France, between the communes of Chatou in Yvelines, on the right bank (to which it is administratively attached), and Rueil-Malmaison i ...

, a long island in Seine river in

Chatou Chatou () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. Chatou is a part of the affluent suburbs of western Paris and is on the northwest side of the Seine river about from the city's center. Hi ...

, west of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

History

In 1857, Alphonse Fournaise bought land in Chatou to open a boat rental, restaurant, and small hotel for the new tourist trade. Closed in 1906, the Maison Fournaise remained abandoned before being restored in 1990 on the initiative of the town of Chatou, with the assistance of American private funds from the Friends of French Art. This restaurant was meeting place of financial persons, politicians and painters of nearby places. That time Impressionist artist liked this restaurant because it was present near river, at this location reflection of sunshine on river's water was a pleasant site, open place and natural air. The restaurant was a favorite of Pierre-Auguste Renoir, who painted scenes of the restaurant including '' Lunch at the Restaurant Fournaise'' or ''The Rowers' Lunch'' (1879, ''Déjeuner chez Fournaise'', ''Déjeuner au Restaurant Fournaise'', ''Le Déjeuner au bord de la rivière'', or ''Déjeuner des Rameurs'') and ''

Luncheon of the Boating Party ''Luncheon of the Boating Party'' french: Le Déjeuner des canotiers is an 1881 painting by French impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Included in the Seventh Impressionist Exhibition in 1882, it was identified as the best painting in the show ...

'' (1881, ''Le déjeuner des canotiers'') as well as several portraits of Fournaise family members and landscapes of the surrounding area.

Gallery

References

External links

*
Restaurant de la Maison Fournaise

The Fournaise Museum

Friends of La Maison Fournaise
{{ACArt Museums in Yvelines Restaurants disestablished in 1906 Impressionism Pierre-Auguste Renoir Art museums and galleries in Île-de-France Buildings and structures in Yvelines 1857 establishments in France 1906 disestablishments in France Art museums established in 1857 Restaurants established in 1857 Defunct restaurants in France