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.