Maison Fournaise

Maison Fournaise
Maison Fournaise of Chatou in West Paris, France
Restaurant information
Established	1857
Previous owner(s)	• Alphonse Fournaise
City	Paris
Country	France

The Maison Fournaise (French: [mɛzɔ̃ fuʁnɛz]; "House of Fournaise") is a restaurant and museum located on the Île des Impressionnistes, a long island in Seine river in Chatou, west of Paris.

History

In 1857, Alphonse Fournaise bought land in Chatou to open a boat rental, restaurant, and a small hotel for the new tourist trade.

Closed in 1906, the Maison Fournaise remained abandoned until it was restored in 1990 on the initiative of the town of Chatou, with the assistance of American private funds from the Friends of French Art.

The restaurant was meeting place of financial persons, politicians and painters of nearby places. At that time, impressionist artist liked this restaurant because it was situated close to the river, at this location reflection of sunshine on river's water made it a pleasant site, an open place with 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 (1881, Le déjeuner des canotiers) as well as several portraits of Fournaise family members and landscapes of the surrounding area.

Gallery

Maison Fournaise Restaurant

Front view

Side view

Paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Luncheon of the Boating Party (1881)

Lunch at the Restaurant Fournaise (1879)

External links

• Media related to Maison Fournaise at Wikimedia Commons
• Restaurant de la Maison Fournaise
• The Fournaise Museum
• Friends of La Maison Fournaise