Nude from the Back 1917

This is Renoir’s ‘Nude from the Back’ and it's just so alive. Imagine Renoir, in his studio, surrounded by light, probably. He is using these short, feathery brushstrokes of pink and cream to build up the form of the woman's back, her shoulders, her arm. You can feel the warmth of the colors; it’s like he's painting the air as much as her skin. Look at how he defines the shape of her back with a soft, hazy outline, and then loses it again in a flurry of brushstrokes, blending her into the background. It's so sensual, right? He is capturing a fleeting moment, an impression of light and color. The painting is about light and its reflection from one form to another. He must have been thinking a lot about what that actually meant, and what that felt like! And of course Renoir must have been thinking about other painters like Fragonard or even Titian. It all comes from somewhere, doesn’t it?