Three Women and Child in a Landscape 1918

Curator: This is Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s “Three Women and Child in a Landscape,” painted in 1918. It's currently held in a private collection. Editor: Immediately, the warmth radiates. The saturation of oranges and reds practically vibrates off the canvas. The figures almost dissolve into the landscape; it is intriguing. Curator: It’s fascinating how late in his career this was produced. Renoir was increasingly focused on the female form, often depicting them en plein air. Given his deteriorating physical condition from rheumatoid arthritis, this turn to idyllic themes perhaps reflected his limited mobility and longing for peace. We need to consider that Renoir was from a working class family. Editor: The formal tension between figuration and abstraction is really palpable. Look at how the outlines blur. Note also that the forms seem constructed purely from colour and light, without any strong reliance on line. It nearly anticipates some later experiments with colour field painting. Curator: Considering Renoir’s focus at the end of his life, we can imagine he employed assistants more frequently during the physical act of painting. The looser brushwork might be evidence of this division of labour, signifying the evolving art market, art handling as labour, and shifting studio production processes of the late 19th and early 20th century. Editor: Yet even so, one can discern a definite structure; for instance, note the dynamic interplay between the figures’ positions, the placement of colour, and the movement created by brush strokes, how it all brings life to this composition, this surface! Curator: So you find a certain visual energy despite what I call a division of art-making that challenges the notion of the singular artistic genius. It points towards an industrialized art creation which, itself, indicates consumerism. This is art about pleasure and leisure. Editor: I can definitely agree there's an argument there. Still, stepping back, seeing how those hot colours resolve into a semblance of figures in repose… for me, it holds its own as a remarkable study in colour, light, and form, beyond all the socio-economic issues it evokes. Curator: Well, thinking about this piece does raise vital questions regarding the means of production and artistic expression. It offers, at once, insight into art making at this historical period. Editor: Agreed. And thinking purely formally reveals such powerful choices within the visual elements too. There’s a lot more happening on that level than first meets the eye.