Pierre Auguste Renoir suffered from
rheumatism and was crippled. He painted
using a paintbrush tied to his wrist.
This caused him to adopt a painting style of light and wispy
brushstrokes that in turn create something of a dreamy, cloudy impression of
the subject. Renoir's paintings dealt
with light and atmospheric effects within environments, same as Monet, but his
art took a step closer to a form of sentimentality. He communicated a feeling along with each of
his works; that, looking at a painting such as this (a portrait of Édouard
Manet's niece), we can almost feel the softness of the subject's nature. This young girl is painted with delicate brushstrokes
to convey the gentleness of her character—and also the frailty of her
condition. This portrait was created
just two years after the death of her father.
In less than a year she would become an orphan.
I have the original painting actually signed by Renoir. He was not to the point of having his hands tied to the paint brush at this time. He painted Berthe Morisot and Julie Monet after this painting was done. Both the paintings were done closely similar to each other especially with the use of orange and yet he makes it work.
ReplyDeleteWow, that's incredible that you have a signed Renoir painting! It certainly is a beautiful portrait. Thanks for sharing!
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