Piere-Auguste Renoir: A Brief History

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“Renoir’s particular ambition was to paint works in joyful hues from which all trace of narrative is excluded” 1, quotes Jean LeyMarie author of Renoir; And truer words about Renoir’s work can not be spoken. Pierre-Auguste Renoir was a French born painter whose collaborations with other notable artists, among them Manet, Delacroix, and Monet 2, helped to influence and shape the budding Impressionist movement. The renowned painter began his humble upbringing in Limoges, France in 1841; The son of a tailor, his parents found him work with a porcelain decorator, which was the beginning of his lengthy career as an artist, and perhaps were his passion for translucent and luscious colors were established 3. While Renoir is well known for his paintings of women, couples, and various other human subjects, his work on flowers is equally as impressive. The work this essay will discuss is the painting Chrysanthemums, painted in 1881-82. Currently located in the Ryerson Collection in Gallery 201 of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Chrysanthemums was painted in the middle years of Renoir’s career. It is a vibrant portrayal of a vase of chrysanthemums in a vase on a table, with a simple, yet poignant background. Although in today in France, chrysanthemums may symbolize bereavement and death 4, Renoir’s depiction is of a flourishing plant, teeming with life and activity. Renoir employs a cooler palate in this work; Blue greens and cool reds are used to create shadows, depth, and contrast to the painting which help to engage the viewer. The flowers sit comfortably in a vase on what appears to be a patterned white table cloth draped loosely over a small circular table. This painting is an excellent example of Renoir’s artistic style; His favor o...

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... uses depth to sink the vase into the back and burst the flowers into the foreground. He does employ contour hatching on the vase, it is apparent which way the vase bends by the way the strokes wrap around. The flowers and vase are clearly resting on top of the table. Renoir paints cast shadows on the table from the flowers, and also uses cast shadows on the red background to create a scene with believable depth on a flat surface. The use of shadows is especially noticeable in the flowers themselves, the bright blue indicates deeper and darker parts in the leafy stems.

Works Cited

(1) “Jean LeyMarie”, Renoir
Page 6 LeyMarie
Page 4 LeyMarie http://blog.couleurnature.com/the-flower-of-death/ Page 689 Gardner’s
Gardner’s 694 http://www.theartstory.org/movement-impressionism.htm 11 John House, Renoir
12“”
House, Renoir 12
House 65 La Promenade
House 64)
(LeyMarie 4)

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