Picking Flowers
1875
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
overall: 54.3 x 65.2 cm (21 3/8 x 25 11/16 in.) framed: 78.1 x 88.9 x 7.6 cm (30 3/4 x 35 x 3 in.)
Classification
Painting
Department
CF
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection
Accession Number
1970.17.61
Art Historical Context
**Picking Flowers**, painted by Pierre-Auguste Ren in 1875, captures a serene moment of everyday joy in oil on canvas, measuring 54.3 x 65.2 cm. This intimate-scale work exemplifies Renoir's mastery during the height of Impressionism, a revolutionary movement he helped pioneer alongside friends like Claude Monet. Rejecting the rigid academic traditions of the Salon, Impressionists like Renoir embraced loose brushwork, vibrant colors and the fleeting effects of natural light to depict modern life—here, likely a tender garden scene of figures gathering blooms under dappled sunlight. Renoir's te...
About the Artist
Auguste Renoir · 1841–1919
Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) was a founding figure of Impressionism whose luminous depictions of Parisian leisure, sensuous female forms, and sun-dappled landscapes made him one of the most beloved painters in Western art history. Born in Limoges to a working-class family, Renoir began as a porcelain painter before pursuing fine arts, and this early craft experience gave him facility with the...