Seated Nude 1913

This painting, "Seated Nude", was made by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, though we don't know when exactly. Imagine Renoir, wrestling with the canvas, coaxing it into being. I mean, look at the dominant tones of red and ochre. Renoir's brushstrokes have this kind of feathery lightness, like he’s barely touching the canvas. The paint isn't thick, but is washed and blended. It's like he’s trying to capture a fleeting moment. You can see it in the way he models the nude figure, all soft curves and rosy skin. Maybe he was thinking about Titian or Rubens? But then he takes it somewhere else completely. It’s that stroke across the nude's back. See how it suggests light and form, but also, it’s just a stroke of paint doing its thing. We painters, we're all in conversation, riffing off each other across time. It’s beautiful.