Renoir, "Two Sisters on the Balcony," by the Museum of Chicago
Enjoy all the happy, wonderful and soothing things in life.
—Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Two Sisters on the Balcony depicts two lovely teenage girls on a warm and beautiful day. The slightly older girl in the painting is dressed in a navy velvet suit and looks forward, looking conceited but charming; the younger girl seems to have suddenly broken into the picture, cute and innocent.
With rowboats and sailing boats moored in the harbor and elevated into mid-air as a backdrop, Renoir spends the spring of 1881 in this suburban town.
Technically, the work has a powerful power: Renoir places real, almost life-size figures in front of a stage-like landscape, creating a realm of pure visual and fantasy. The sewing basket in the left foreground is reminiscent of the artist holding a palette, as if mixing, diluting and recombining the bright and pure pigments in the basket for drawing other parts of the painting.
Renoir, Lunch at the Fernez Restaurant, collection of the Art Institute of Chicago
In 1875, Renoir created "Lunch at the Fernez Restaurant", which depicts people paddling leisurely along the Seine, and "Two Sisters on the Balcony" is a close-up "close-up" of this scene.
Although Renoir avoided the sign of the Vernez restaurant and the identity of the owner was kept secret, Renoir lingered and overflowed.
Renoir's "Luncheon on board", collection of the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C
In a letter to the collector Georges de Bellio in the late summer of 1880, he stated that he was too busy working on The Luncheon on the Ship to withdraw to Paris, but invited Monsieur de Belio to Chateau for a small gathering with him. Renoir wrote: "Find a good weather to come here for lunch, and you will definitely be worth the trip." This is the most charming place around Paris. ”
If "Luncheon on the Boat" represents a summer feast, then "Two Sisters on the Balcony" can be called the prelude to spring.
In a letter dated 18 April 1881 to the art critic Théodore Duret, Renoir reiterated that he had decided to abandon his planned trip to England because he was busy working on Two Sisters. He wrote, "Spring is in full bloom here, models have been found, I just want to concentrate on painting... The mind is not distracted, it is difficult to make the trip. ”
Renoir, Madame Georges Scharpontier and Her Children
Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Shortly after its completion, the painting was bought from Renoir for 1,500 francs by Paul Durand-Ruel, the "legendary agent of Impressionism", when the title of the painting was Femme sur une terrasse au bord de la Seine (Girl on the Terrace of the Seine), which Renoir is said to have received as early as three years earlier to create the large-scale portrait "Georges De La Seine". Madame Scharpontier and her children".
In March 1882, "The Girl on the Terrace of the Seine" was unveiled at the Seventh Impressionist Exhibition with the new title "Two Sisters".
In 1882, the French newspaper Le Hooligans contained a section on "Visiting the Impressionists"
Renoir privately believed that Paul Gauguin and Camille Pissarro's political views were too radical, so he refused to participate in the exhibition, so Diuron-Rue exhibited 25 of Renoir's works from his private collection. The following year, he also presented a retrospective of Renoir's classics, which was once again brought to the public under the new title "The Lady on the Balcony (Sand Figure)" Femme sur une terrasse (Chatou).
The French writer Georges Lecomte once praised Diuran-Ruhe's unique insight, and was the first to affirm the creativity and achievements of Impressionism when it had not yet attracted social attention; Diurand-Ruhe's collection not only reflected the historical process of Impressionism's growth, but also represented the best artistic talent of each painter. When talking about "Two Sisters on the Balcony", Leconte even compares it to the masterpiece of the master: "The slightly inclined sitting posture and charming smile give people a feeling of femininity, elegance, and sophistication, which is simply a modern version of the Mona Lisa, which combines sensibility and charm in one, with a variety of styles." ”
Renoir's Alfonsina Vernez, 1879, Collection of the Musée d'Orsay, Paris
The pastoral background in "Two Sisters on the Balcony" brings people a sense of quiet and good years, and the creation is unique, setting off the relationship between the characters and the background with strong contrasts, such as using sparse and blurry lines to express the background, and depicting the characters with thick colors and meticulous brushstrokes.
Renoir had painted at least two similar figures in the two years before that, both of which were single portraits on the terrace.
Renoir's The Sitting Girl, 1880 Private Collection
The water surface in the background section of "Two Sisters on the Balcony" is based on a thin pink and blue tone, and Renoir uses short and heavy blue and white lines to represent the ripples and splashes of the river, gently sketching the leaves and branches with green, light gray and lilac. The brushstrokes are as soft as a yarn, making the moving ships, moored sailboats and the scenery on the opposite shore clearly visible, while the large number of white or light-colored blocks on the background depict the feeling of sparse foliage.
Part of the work "Two Sisters on the Balcony"
The dark blue of the slightly older girl feels solidified against the background of the flowers and green leaves; the mixture of red and blue deepens the effect of the shadow of the elbow; and the chest appears glittering with the reflection of sunlight on the yellow sequins. The little girl's dress is lead white, and her skin color is as white and transparent as a porcelain doll, delicate and childish.
Renoir, Alfred Cicile, Collection of the Museum of Art chicago
The dark blue dress, with its bright red hat, is a bit abrupt to list the three primary colors directly like this, but perhaps this is a true portrayal of the rowers on the Seine. As Maupassant describes the rowers in his novel Yvette: "They wear blue or red flannel dresses and hold parasols that are equally red or blue, shining in the sun..."