Woman in a Red Blouse 1908

Pierre-Auguste Renoir gave us this "Woman in a Red Blouse," painted with oils, and it feels like the making of the painting was a process of finding the subject, rather than a definitive statement. Looking closely, the texture of the paint and the way Renoir built up the layers—it’s not about hiding the process, you know? He’s letting us see how he’s thinking. The surface has this wonderful, almost fuzzy quality, and the colors, even the red, are mixed with so many other hues. Check out the way the red in the blouse melts into the background. It’s almost as if he’s thinking about flesh, about the body, rather than just depicting a person dressed in red. I see a bit of Fragonard in there too, that same lightness and delight in the act of painting itself. For me, it's the ambiguity and openness that keeps it fresh.