Joseph Knecht

   Lunch Break Luncheon of the Boating Party Pierre-Auguste Renoir 1881 The above scene depicts a break for lunch that was taken by a group of the artist Renoir's friends as they were boating down the Seine.  They've disembarked at a shore side restaurant and are treating themselves to quite a feast. The Wiki link in the painting title contains an interactive view of the painting that shows you the identity of each of the friends who appear in the work (can you guess his future wife?).  While the restaurant is real, and the excursion may have actually taken place, obviously Renoir couldn't have painted it in the restaurant; we know that each of the diners posed separately over a period of 16 months, and he then assembled their portraits into the final work.  Not only is it a masterpiece, but it's a tour de force of the painter's craft. You don't have to go to France to see this painting: it's owned by The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C.  For a ...

  Today's constructor is Michael Schlossberg, who last appeared here with his second LAT puzzle on January 23, 2022 .  He has also had puzzles published in the NYT.   Today he warns us about  Some spots you might want to avoid   The key to discovering the theme of this puzzle is a clue within the reveal.  I didn't catch it the first time around and had to get some help (see acknowledgements at the end of the review*). 58A. Product used on four of this puzzle's clues : SPOT REMOVER .  Reveal clue italics added by the blogger .  A careful reading of  the clue indicated that something had been removed from the clues , not the fill , as is often the case.  If we add SPOT back in, the clue becomes an idiom synonymous with the idiomatic fill.  Here are the themers: 17A. Tough: DIRE STRAITS .  Tough spot to be in.  The Greek hero Odysseus, on his long journey home from the Trojan War found himself...