Pierre-Auguste Renoir, a leading painter of the Impressionist style, was known for his depictions of Parisian modernity and leisure during the late 19th century. His famous painting “The Parisienne” (la Parisienne) from 1874 showcases a beautiful woman dressed in fashionable clothing standing against a background of flowing red drapery. The painting was considered scandalous at the time it was created because she wasn’t wearing a corset and her dress showed off her figure.
Renoir’s style and development of impressionism became influential on later artists like Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso. He used rich colors with bold combinations to capture light and movement in landscapes or figure subjects through his use of broken brushstrokes. These techniques are clearly present in “The Parisienne” which highlights contrasts between deep blues, greens, vivid reds, pinks, creams, whites, greys that evoke both ease and elegance.
“The Parisienne” is one Renoir’s masterpieces that encapsulates la belle époque era with its joie de vivre charm mixed with quiet sophistication. Not only did it depict fashion at the time but also reflected changing social attitudes towards women’s suffrage by showing the subject without any visible undergarments or accoutrements commonly worn by women at that time period.”
