Pierre-Auguste Renoir
The Onions, 1881
Clark Art Inst.
Went to the Clark Art Exhibition yesterday
with my students. The majority of works
were by Renoir. Out of all the brilliantly
executed portraits and still lifes by the artist,
I fell in love with his “Onions” piece.
Simple, yet so graceful and pleasing.
Although Renoir is mainly a “figurative
artist”, many of his still lifes are so alive
with color and seductive.. even more so
than his nudes!
The reason why they are so appealing is
probably because he paints them with much
freedom and spontaneity. Portraits are always
such a hassle. You have to worry whether your
patron will like the work or not.
This is how Renoir explains the situation;
“I just let my brain rest when I paint flowers.
I don’t experience the same tension as I do
when confronted by the model… I establish
the tones, I study the values carefully without
worrying about losing the picture. I don’t dare
do this with a figure piece for the fear of
ruining it.”
The Clark Art Exhibition at Mitsubishi is a
“must see”!! The collection fits the Japanese
taste for Impressionism. I’m sure you will
enjoy it!