“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.