My Kid Could Paint That

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Luncheon of the Boating Party, 1880-1881

By LIBBY ROHR

To a Stranger
By Walt Whitman

PASSING stranger! you do not know how longingly I look upon you,
You must be he I was seeking, or she I was seeking, (it comes to me, as of a dream,)
I have somewhere surely lived a life of joy with you,
All is recall’d as we flit by each other, fluid, affectionate, chaste, matured,
You grew up with me, were a boy with me, or a girl with me,
I ate with you, and slept with you—your body has become not yours only, nor left my body mine only,
You give me the pleasure of your eyes, face, flesh, as we pass—you take of my beard, breast, hands, in return,
I am not to speak to you—I am to think of you when I sit alone, or wake at night alone,
I am to wait—I do not doubt I am to meet you again,
I am to see to it that I do not lose you.

Editor's Note: Students were asked to match a poem of their choice with a painting of their choice. The relationship between the two shall be determined by the viewer/reader.

The Haut Boys
Curated by Susie Xu

Renoir, Luncheon of the Boating Party, 1881

Clearly a much different style of clothing and portrayal of characters, Luncheon with the Boating Party brings about a vastly different style of art. The New Impressionist Movement brings a mixture of realism with a hint of artistic qualities.

Instead of focusing on one man, we’re instead looking at the three prominent men at the foreground of the painting. All three men are well proportioned and well built – sun’s out, guns out! The bushy beard on the left is an asset to be applauded for. Maintaining the hair is a difficult task, as I hear. We also have the debonair man on the right, leaning in to talk to the woman in blue. Clearly he’s a suave man, able to handle the ladies – or lady in this case. That’s a bonus. The ginger man on the bottom right however, seems a little lacking. He can’t even properly sit in his chair correctly, not to mention that he’s staring in an unamused manner towards something.

Renoir does a fantastic job painting layers in his art, giving each masterpiece a sense of reality and space. This one in particular, the people and the food perfectly set on the table continuously layer further and further, the background full of people, but without the messy and chaotic feel.