A Road in Louveciennes
ca. 1870
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
15 x 18 1/4 in. (38.1 x 46.4 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Lesley and Emma Sheafer Collection, Bequest of Emma A. Sheafer, 1973
Accession Number
1974.356.32
Tags
Art Historical Context
Auguste Renoir's *A Road in Louveciennes* (ca. 1870) invites viewers into the luminous French countryside just outside Paris. Painted during Renoir's early career, this oil on canvas reflects his immersion in the emerging Impressionist movement. Louveciennes, a favored spot for artists like Alfred Sisley and Camille Pissarro, provided idyllic rural scenes amid the rapid changes of Second Empire France, where urbanization was transforming traditional landscapes. Renoir's signature style shines through in his loose, vibrant brushwork, capturing the fleeting effects of sunlight filtering through...
About the Artist
Auguste Renoir · 1841–1919
Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841–1919), born in Limoges to a modest tailor's family, displayed prodigious talent early on, apprenticed at age thirteen to the Lévy Frères porcelain factory in Paris after his family relocated there in 1845. There, he decorated fine china with floral designs, fans, and religious hangings, honing his skills in color and draftsmanship. By 1862, having saved enough, Renoir s...