Cagnes 

Pierre-Auguste Renoir painted this impressionist piece, Cagnes, at an unknown date, using oil on canvas. Renoir lived between the rigid class structures of the 19th century and the shifting social landscape of the early 20th century. Like many impressionist painters, Renoir sought to capture fleeting moments and the sensory experience of the world around him. The artwork gives the impression of a fleeting observation rather than a staged scene. The blurred outlines and soft color palette of the buildings in Cagnes evoke a sense of nostalgia and the passage of time, whilst being viewed from a fixed vantage point. The trees on either side of the painting act as framing devices, inviting you, the viewer, to contemplate the buildings in the distance. The piece captures a time of vast cultural change and allows you to reflect on the simple everyday lives and places of this period.