Maurice Gangnat 1916

Pierre-Auguste Renoir painted Maurice Gangnat sometime around 1916 using oil paints, presumably in his studio, or perhaps Gangnat's home. The first thing I notice is that confident moustache! It's the anchor of the piece. Look at the texture of it; Renoir builds it with these soft, feathery strokes, echoed in the wisps of hair at the temples. The background is a swirl of browns and greens, not quite solid, more like a feeling than a place, and it throws the whole portrait forward. Renoir was such a master of color and light, and here, even in the darker tones of the suit, he sneaks in these vibrant reds and purples. It reminds me a bit of Manet in his later years. They both had this way of turning observation into pure sensation. A painting like this never really settles down; it keeps shifting and shimmering, doesn’t it?