“La Grenouillere” was a cafe on the water, which is located on the banks of the Seine moored to a pontoon, standing in a small branch of the river and connects the island catwalk, thrown over a tiny island, which some called “flower pot”, others – “Camembert”. Adorable cabin, with usual prevailed here during the Second Empire and carefree atmosphere of happiness, is described in detail and the Goncourt brothers and Zola and Maupassant.
The latter in particular was like a fun atmosphere “La Grenouillere “. In the story “The wife of Paul”, which was published simultaneously with the “institutions Tellier”, described “a flotilla of skiffs, racing boats single, kayaks, boats, a wide variety of forms and materials, which slid on the fixed surface of faced, brushed against each other, clung oars, suddenly stopped by a powerful grip and diverged from the push sinewy arms and raced through the waves, reminding yellow and red fish. “
“Paddling” earned it the nickname of the fact that there is a large number of girls going pretty easy virtue, the so-called “frog” who came here accompanied by a small hooligans and rascals from the suburbs. Sometimes they come alone, in the hope of catching the customer for using bait causing, loud colors outfits.
The “splash pool” can be found and healthy entertainment – sports. Gathered young tanned young men in T-shirts, white trousers and straw hats, echoed each other, challenge each other or placed in their leaky boats bridesmaids dresses light, hiding under colorful umbrellas at the edge of the skiff. “Couple occasionally took a boat rental and floated down the river.
Around slowly drifted beach, green areas with dark glades, with trampled Sunday picnics grass and sparse trees, brightly painted barges, loaded side in the flowing water, the flickering light playing on the surface standing at the dock yachts, sparkling beaches, animated by the presence of a large number of ships, carrying sand, clear channel, and a plurality of carriages pulled by white horses.
Often in small, grassy bays, on the cool clearings under the willows, on juicy meadows holidaymakers wandered in different directions and, casually lounging on the grass, trying to wait out the hottest time of the siesta in the shade of a tree, so that only here and there you could see the straw hat , the red blouse, the shuttlecock some petticoat.
In the evening, the whole congregation gathered on the pontoon, lit with colored lights that cast a glare on the water. That’s when the holiday started! The orchestra of five musicians played waltzes, quadrilles, and canter.
At that time, Renoir and Monet, working side by side, using identical themes, and very close to each other styles. Not every expert, even if closer study will determine who is the author of a work. These paintings can be called in the full sense of the word impressionistic. They embodied all the characteristics of movement: a study of the water and reflections, colored shadows, transparency, shimmering colors, smear division, the use of bright palette, limited to three primary and three secondary colors.
The surprising and, we can say, miraculously it turned out that developing life-affirming principles of painting, Monet and Renoir have known its darkest days. Lack of money forced back under the Renoir family shelter, and Claude Monet will not get cash from home and managed to sell anything from their paintings, chased hunger. He had nothing to feed her son and Camilla, despite repeated calls for help. Pleas did not always get a response, Renoir and Monet repeatedly saved the family from starvation, bringing them something from the table. “
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