Lemons and Orange c. 1913

This is Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s, *Lemons and Orange,* made with oil paint on canvas. Renoir was a master of capturing light and texture, and here, he used these skills to bring everyday fruit to life. Instead of traditional art materials, Renoir chose mass-produced pigments and a pre-stretched canvas. Notice how the strokes of color seem to vibrate with light. The brushwork isn’t about precise detail; instead, it focuses on the way light reflects off the surfaces of the fruit. You can almost feel the rough skin of the orange and the smooth waxiness of the lemons. Renoir was part of the Impressionist movement, and they were radical because they captured fleeting moments in time. Still life paintings like this one reflect a changing world, where mass production and consumerism were on the rise. Renoir elevates the everyday, and encourages us to pause and appreciate the simple beauty around us. His work reminds us that even the most mundane objects can be a source of wonder.