“The Umbrellas” By: Pierre
Auguste Renoir
Ashley L. Grissom
Art 201.02
November 18, 2008
Why
shouldn’t art be pretty when there are enough unpleasant things in the world.”(Pierre
Auguste Renoir) Born in Limoges,
France on
February 24, 1841, Renoir was a well known artist during the Impressionist
movement. Working with other Impressionist artists such as Monet and Pissaro,
Renoir was deeply into the realistic form of artwork, and the goal of his
paintings was to employ vivid colors and make feelings more visible through
clear shapes and strong strokes. Engulfed by his family, Renoir painted
portraits of them quite often. Having only three boys, he would dress them in
costumes, and sometimes dresses, when he wanted to paint a more feminine
portrait. Some art historians believe that Renoir unconsciously painted many
portraits of his own family to show off their affluent middle class existence,
because he was deprived of such at a young age. As an adolescent, Renoir did
not live such a lavish lifestyle because his father was only a tailor. When he
was five years old, his father decided to move the family to Paris, where they began to live a much wealthier
way of life. At age thirteen, Renoir began working at the Paris Porcelain
factory where he was taught to imitate great Rococo painters of the 18th
century. Rococo artists emphasized pastel colors, sinuous curves, and patterns
based on flowers, vines, and shells. They changed the normality of art from
historical subjects to intimate mythological scenes, views of daily life, and
portraiture. This is what Renoir and other impressionist began to imitate, and
make their own in 1874. Auguste Renoir and Monet worked closely together during
the late 1860s, painting similar scenes of popular river resorts and views of a
lively Paris. “Renoir
was by nature more solid than Monet, and while Monet had his attentions on the
ever-changing patterns of nature, Renoir was particularly spellbound by people
and often painted friends and lovers.” It is said that we only remember only
what takes our immediate notice, and than we move along. Renoir took this into
consideration and always tried to embody pleasure within his paintings, no
matter what the scenery. “He always took a simple pleasure in whatever met his
good-humored attention, but he refused to let what he saw dominate what he
wanted to paint.” Much of Renoir’s earlier work has an obvious brightness that
brings enjoyment to the observer, but by the late 1870’s Renoir had travelled as far as Impressionism could
take him, and a visit to Italy
in 1881-82 inspired him to seek a greater sense of solidarity in his work.
Around the same time he turned from contemporary themes to more timeless
subjects, particularly nudes, and portraits of young girls in unspecific
settings.
A great example of Renoirs work
within both time periods of his life, is ‘The Umbrellas”, which was
started before his trip to Italy,
and finished afterward. Looking at the painting, there is a crowd of people who
seem to be enjoying a normal sunny day outside. Everyone is holding an umbrella
(hints the title of the painting) to block the sunlight, and only three young
ladies seem to be without one. This seems of some importance because those
without umbrellas seem sadder than the people with them. On the left side of
the portrait stands a lady no older than her mid twenties, and she is one of
the females without an umbrella. She holds an empty basket with one of her
hands, and keeps her dress from dragging on the ground with the other. She, and
a young girl no older than four are the only people giving eye contact within
the entire portrait, which I believe is a significant element in the painting.
Her eyes look heavy with sadness and her
shoulders
look burdened with work. The color and texture of her clothing indicate that
her social status may not be the same of those who stand around her, which
makes her a lower class citizen. She is the only person without jewelry, or
color in her clothing (which is black) , and her hair is gently pulled back
into a bun, while other females surrounding her wear watches and necklaces, and
fancy flowered hats with plush curls beneath them. It seems she stands alone,
although there are men and women closely surrounding her. On the right side of
the portrait, which was done before the trip to Italy, stand the two young girls
(maybe sisters) who are also without umbrellas. This could signify that because
of their age they don’t need umbrellas, because in the 1800’s not only was
social class important, but gender and age as well, although their social
status seems to be of those who surround them, middle-upper class citizens.
They stand close together wearing ruffled dresses of blue and green, with
buttoned up coats and light colored flowered hats with their hair curly and red
lying underneath. The younger sister provides eye contact to the spectator of
the portrait, which I believe is also significant in the painting, but in a
different way. Looking with sympathy for the woman without an umbrella, the
young girl understands her pain, from a child’s point of view. She is probably
thinking that the woman’s sadness comes from only being without an umbrella,
and she sympathizes with her because she too is without one. Not knowing the
woman’s problems or struggles the young girl believes that she and this woman
suffer from the same problem, regardless of age.
The title of this portrait helps me interpret what I see, but also leads
me to visualize other elements within the painting. The umbrellas are an
obvious object in the painting, but the people’s expression is the first thing
I am drawn to. Another title for this painting could be, A Child’s Innocence,
or A Woman’s Burden, or even Umbrellas Without Rain, and depending
on the person, a lot of different things can be seen and focused on when
looking at this portrait. Many historians believe that the painting was started
during Renoir’s impressionistic era, and finished when he visited Italy and his
work became more solid and dull. The young girls are painted with short
feathery brush strokes, which is a characteristic of an impressionistic
painter, with mixtures of grays, whites, purples and blues filling their
clothing, and many different colors in the space which surrounds them. Rich
colors, highlights, and his use of shadowing create a live surface which
surround the girls. The rest of the painting amplifies the fact that Renoir
finished it in Italy.
The usage of lines is more crisp and solid, and the shapes are whole, creating
the effect of solid objects not blending with any of its surroundings. The
people in the background have really no diversity in the coloring of their
clothes. The portrayal of sunlight seeping through their umbrellas gives them
all a hue of redness rather than realistic human features. All of the umbrellas
are the exact same color and shape, which brings a sense of unity to the
painting, giving the impression of similarity between the people in it. The
predominant color scheme of the painting uses analogous colors as well to
present the feeling of unity throughout the painting. There is little if any
texture depicted in the part of the painting that was done after Renoir’s trip
to Italy,
but the two young girls seem more tangible and real because they were done when
Renoir was more of an Impressionist. The only factor that remains consistent
throughout the entire painting is the lighting. Shading is greatly used to
illustrate the sunlight being blocked from some
of
the people’s faces, while those without umbrellas have more of a red tone to
their skin from the sunlight.
Other works of art done by Renoir
have many similarities to ‘The Umbrella’, relating to the color,
texture, lighting and type of line being used. ‘Bather and Maid’ is an
oil on canvas painting as well, and was done in 1887 during Renoir’s
impressionistic period. Showing scenery of everyday life, this painting looks
very realistic, from the usage of color in the two women’s skin tone, to
flowing strands of hair. It illustrates ideal middle-class woman getting bathed
by her maid. Many of Renoir’s paintings around this time showed naked woman
being bathed or bathing themselves. It was more common for woman to be nude in
front of artist and be painted during the 1800’s, rather than in the 1500’s
when woman were not allowed to pose nude. During Da Vinci’s time a lot of woman
who were naked in paintings where really men’s bodies with woman’s faces
painted on them. This was not a problem during the Impressionism when nude
paintings were highly popular. ‘The Sailor Boy’ by Renoir in 1883, is a
painting of Pierre, Renoir’s oldest son. He is standing in the grass with a
sailor suit on, which is probably one of the costumes Renoir had him wear, and
a stick in his hand. The colors and lineage used in this painting depict joy in
the painting, and again, show a symbolism of everyday life for a middle-class
person. The colors in his clothing are blended to create a solid color, rather
than using one single color to form the clothing. The grass beneath his feet
have a “…” look. This painting is just one of the portraits that Renoir painted
of his son Pierre, but unlike many of them, he is alone in this portrait, which
suggests that the his two younger brothers had not been born yet. In 1876,
Renoir painted ‘The Luncheon of the Boating Party’. As in many of his
impressionistic paintings, it depicts rich colors, highlights, and shadowing
which creates a live surface. Even the swamp in the background is painted with
enough texture to make the spectator feel like he was there. Renoir’s disregard
for true linear perspective is shown in the lines of the railing of the boat,
as well as within the table top, and reflect the declining interest in his
naturalistic illusion of depth. It seems that he is more interested in
portraying the solidity of the figures in a memorable composition. The people
in the painting are shown conversing and drinking wine, which is a reflection
of the Industrial Revolution, which created an urban middle class with leisure,
a love of the new technology, and a strong taste for fashion. Texture is very
applicable in this painting, because it seems as though everything within the
painting is so real that it can be touched. Pierre Auguste Renoir was one of
the most important impressionist of his time, and he will be remembered
forever, not only through his artwork, but from the lasting impression he made
on history with the type of work he did. “He is perhaps the best-loved of all
the Impressionists, for his subjects; pretty children, flowers, beautiful
scenes, and above all lovely women. Along with artists such as Claude Monet,
Mary Cassatt, Paul Cézanne Edgar Degas, and Camille Pissarro, Impressionism
will always be remembered for the happiness it depicts.