Forest of Fontainebleau at The National Gallery of Art

By JULIETTE ROSSANT Ever go to a foodie movie and get hungry watching the characters (rats or human) cook and eat? After a really wonderful food film, Babette's Feast for instance, Chinese or Italian just won't do. The same is true after an experience of breathtaking music or art - they require a good meal. Try visiting The National Gallery of Art's In the Forest of Fontainebleau: Painters and Photographers from Corot to Monet (March 2 – June 8) traveling to The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (July 13 – October 19). This is a stunning, well thought out exhibition of paintings, photographs and artist and tourist items from the 19th century. The Forest of Fontainebleau, about 35 miles southeast of Paris, lured artists who captured its tame and untamed beauty, its villages and peasants at work, and magnificent old growth trees and stunning rocky cliffs. An informal artists colony grew around the village of Barbizon, which gave its name to the Barbizon School. "If you were a landscape artist, you went to Fontainebleau," Kimberly A. Jones, Associate Curator, French Paintings told Super Chef on a tour of the exhibit. Artists stayed in the inns in the area, which fed them and the tourists who flocked to Fontainebleau on the trains de plaisir for an all-day Sunday picnic. Though the most famous food picture of Fontainebleau is Manet's Le Dejeuner Sur L'Herbe, of which a left panel is in the exhibit, it is Renoir's The Inn of Mother Anthony that is the most fascinating for food lovers. Most of the other works of art depict the grandeur of the natural landscape. Renoir painted an interior, after the artists have returned from a day painting en plein air. It will make you hungry. If you ever question how important a meal is to artists and intellectuals – how inspiring great or even humble food can be, read this comment from Helga Aurisch in the catalogue to the exhibition: "It is one of my pictures that I remember with most pleasure. It is not that I find the painting itself particularly exciting, but it does remind me of good old Mother Antony [sic] and her inn at Marlotte. That was a real village inn!"…No landscapes by Renoir seem to have survived from this walking trip through, but this painting, more than any other, conjures up the spirit of the artists' colony in the Forest of Fontainebleau as they must have existed for many years at Marlotte, Chailly, and Barbizon. The scene hints at the camaraderie, exchange of ideas, rivalries, and high spirits of these young men, who worked all day in their natural "studio" and enjoyed each others' company during meals and convivial evenings. (p. 178) So what about the food? The National Gallery has turned it's in the West Building café into Garden Café: Fonatinebleau. Three Washington DC area chefs created dishes that will be featured at the café for the duration of the exhibit. Scott Chambers of La Ferme in Chevy Chase, MD prepared Jumbo Lump Crabmeat Salad with Remoulade, Patrick Orange of La Chaumière in Washington, DC prepared Estouffade de Boeuf Bourguignonne, and Jean-Claude Le Lan of Le Refuge in Alexandria, VA presented Chocolate Mousse with Crème Anglaise at a tasting of the café's new menu that will include many other classic French dishes. Cards printed with Renoir's painting on one side, and a recipe served at the café are also available. In addition, the Cascade and Terrace Cafes in the museum will also offer French fare. You can even pick up a picnic at the Terrace Café on the weekends which will including a cheese plate with baguette, Salad Niçoise, Chicken Caesar salad, classic ham & cheese on Brioche, curry chicken salad on French country bread, and grilled vegetable wrap along with dessert. Do as the artists do – get your fill of the paintings and photographs and then head out to the Mall or the cafe and reflect on what you've seen - with fine food. Previous articles: Food Forever: Pieter Claesz Food In Painting: Kenneth Bendiner Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging --> back to Super Chef