Renoir: Children's Afternoon At Wargemont

  Here is Pierrre Auguste Renoir's beautiful painting Children's Afternoon at Wargemont from 1884.  The original painting is in the collection of the Alte Nationalgaerie in Berlin, Germany.
    Renoir was at the height of his career when he created this work in 1884.  Here we see three girls in an interior space.  The flowers and view out the window indicate it is summer, maybe late spring.  The room's decor and the girl's dress suggest a prosperous French family.  The oldest girl is hand sewing, the middle, reading and the youngest loves her doll and oldest sister.
    If you have read my previous blogs, you may have an idea why I selected this painting for review.  Obviously it is a beautiful image, and I can imagine seeing the original is spectacular for Renoir knew how to use color to its best advantage - pure, clean and bright.  The composition is particularly interesting.  Similar to the Kirchner and the Vermeer Renoir has provided a base of orange/yellow.
And, similar to the Gauguin, he has created a divide right down the middle.  How interesting!  One side is almost entirely blue and white while the other is shades of orange:  another complementary color harmony!   But even so, notice how he has infiltrated each space with spots of the other color.
The girl's heads are not at even height, but close.  The curve of the settee brings the eye from the middle child into the format reaching her sisters.  And the drapery and table provide a perfect frame for the other two children.
   So, who do you think these young women are?   Have they been out somewhere or are they about to go?   Maybe young French girls always dress like this in the afternoon?   Let your imagination take you back to France in 1884.  I would love to hear what you think.
   Make Art a part of your day,  it's a beautiful thing to do.

Comments

  1. charguthMay 10, 2019 at 1:36 PM

    This lovely painting speaks to my maternal side! But I first thought it was a mother and two girls.
    I love his use of blue throughout, even the shoes and chair cushion.. The blue shadow under the settee sets off the white edging and legs. The atmosphere is warm and genuine, a perfect painting to look at on Mother's Day weekend!!! Renoir can do no wrong with painting females! And this group seems privileged. Love it.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Wayne Thiebaud, Sunset Streets

Image
   In giving title to this landscape, California artist, Wayne Thiebaud not only provides the location, but also the time of day.  Knowing that Thiebaud is a California artist provides the last clue to guessing the probably location.  Smartly, The San Francisco Museum Of Modern Art purchased this painting for its permanent collection in 1986, a year after it was completed.  Sunset Streets is an oil on canvas measuring 48" x 35".      Wayne Thiebaud was born in 1920 and resides in California. He is one of several artists creating a distinct California aesthetic using heavy pigment and exaggerated color.   He is best known for his commonplace objects, figures, and landscapes. of which this is a perfect example.    The composition of this work is amazing.  Right down the center, at a slight tilt is this blue-black stripe, K shape, beginning with a heavy base and capped with a large triangle of sorts.  The painting is...
Read more

Jimmy Baker, "Double Tillman"

Image
   It has been a while since we have looked at a contemporary artist and new work, and this particular image by Jimmy Baker is somewhat different from others of his.   At first glance our painting for this week appears to be a landscape, maybe a setting or rising sun.  Our attention is drawn to the circle just slightly above middle center, and the arches above and swirls of color high light it.  Look at the lower half, the earth.  The light has highlighted rocks or wood chips, but we are unable to distinguish more.   I think this painting allows us to determine for ourselves what to make of it.   Is this a dying earth, or one recovering from tragedy?         Jimmy Baker (1980-) is from Ohio.  He was born here, received his education in Ohio, and is presently and associate professor at the Art Academy of Cincinnati.  His work has achieved critical acclaim with solo exhibitions in Europe and across t...
Read more

Childe Hassam "The Avenue in Rain"

Image
    I probably should have saved this for the 4th of July, but that is a little far off and this work is among Childe Hassam's finest.      I have known of Childe Hassam (1859 - 1935) for a very long time, but only recently did Wikimedia straighten me out about the correct way to pronounce his first name.  It seems the "e" is silent; and his last name is pronounced as written, with two syllables.        From what I have read, Hassam was a pretty sharp guy, and possibly a little  arrogant.  He created 3,000 some works of art in his career and lived his entire adult life on the proceeds of their sale.  This is quite remarkable.  Most artists, (at least before 1930) had to supplement their income by teaching, commissioned portraits or careers outside the art field.  But Hassam figured out not only how to market his work, but also what subjects would be popular.  Timing is always a big issue, and he wa...
Read more