La Promenade

On this day in 1841, Pierre-Auguste Renoir was born. You can like him or not, but it's a fact that he was one of the leading painters in the development of the Impressionist style. He was a celebrator of beauty, especially feminine sensuality, and continued the painting traditions of Rubens and Watteau.

The original title Pierre-Auguste Renoir gave to this painting is unknown, but La Promenade serves in part as an homage to the artists he deeply admired. Renoir had spent the previous summer painting en plein air with Claude Monet, who inspired him to embrace a lighter, more luminous palette and to explore his love for luscious, feathery brushwork. In this work, Renoir retains something of Gustave Courbet’s earthy green-and-brown tones while drawing his subject matter from the carefree, sensual garden scenes of 18th-century artists like Jean-Antoine Watteau and Jean-Honoré Fragonard, whose works he studied at the Louvre.

Unlike the deliberately staged images of seduction crafted by his predecessors, Renoir captures a spontaneous, fleeting moment: middle-class Parisians enjoying nature, perhaps in a local park, rather than posed before a studio backdrop. The dappled light filtering through the foliage—a hallmark of Renoir’s finest Impressionist works from the 1870s and 1880s—adds a sense of vitality and intimacy. Using a thin, oily paint mixture, Renoir allowed his glazes to blend seamlessly, creating subtle depth and an almost ethereal quality to the scene.

P.S. On the occasion of his birthday, we're giving you a 25% discount on a premium quality reproduction of one of his most famous artworks, Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette. Enjoy!

P.P.S. Learning the stories of artists' lifes help us better appreciate their art and even discover other hidden meaning in their works. Discover Renoir's life, which was as vibrant as his art.