Artwork
Au restaurant (At the Restaurant)
Au restaurant (At the Restaurant) is an ink print by the Impressionist artist Jean-Louis Forain. It dates from 1890 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Au restaurant (At the Restaurant) is a 1890 lithograph on laid paper by French artist Jean-Louis Forain, capturing a moment of everyday life in a restaurant setting.
Subject & Meaning
The man, adorned in a top hat and bow tie, appears contemplative, while the woman, wearing a fancy hat, gazes off into the distance, lost in thought.
The print portrays a serene, intimate scene of two diners at a café table, conveying the social ambiance of late 19th-century restaurant culture. The man, adorned in a top hat and bow tie, appears contemplative, while the woman, wearing a fancy hat, gazes off into the distance, lost in thought. The table, set with a bottle, glass, partially consumed meal, and folded napkin, suggests a pause in their dining experience.
Technique & Style
Forain employed quick, expressive lines in this lithograph, imbuing the scene with a sense of movement and vitality. The sketchy quality of the work evokes a spontaneous, observational feel, characteristic of Impressionist practices.
History & Provenance
Created in 1890, Au restaurant reflects Forain's prolific output across various mediums during a period of relative success for the artist. Despite his accomplishments during his lifetime (1852-1931), his reputation has waned compared to some of his Impressionist contemporaries.
Context
This work is situated within the broader Impressionist movement's focus on modern life and everyday scenarios. Forain's depiction of a restaurant scene aligns with the era's interest in capturing the rhythms of urban, bourgeois existence.
Legacy
While Forain's overall legacy has diminished since his peak, Au restaurant remains a representative example of late 19th-century Impressionist printmaking, offering insight into the social and artistic sensibilities of its time.
Artist & collection
Artist
Jean-Louis Forain (French pronunciation: ; 23 October 1852 – 11 July 1931) was a French Impressionist painter and printmaker, working in media including oils, watercolour, pastel, etching and lithograph.
Le cabinet particulier (5e planche) (The Private Room) (fifth plate)
Le cabinet particulier (1ère planche) (The Private Room) (first plate)
Cafe Scene (descriptive)
Maison close (planche refusée) (Bordello) (refused plate)
Les femmes à l'absinthe (Women with Absinthe)
Le cabinet particulier (3e planche) (The Private Room) (third plate)
Les femmes à l'absinthe (Women with Absinthe)
In the Café
Les Folies-Bergère (planche refusée, 2e planche) (The Folies Bergère) (refused plate, second plate)
C'est fini!...(grande planche) (It is Finished!...) (large plate)
Scène de cabinet particulier (planche en largeur) (Scene in a Private Room) (horizontal plate)
At the Restaurant