Roses in a Vase 1895

Pierre-Auguste Renoir created this oil painting, entitled "Roses in a Vase", sometime in the late 19th century. It presents a bouquet of roses, a classic subject with a loaded history. Floral paintings were extremely popular amongst the rising middle class in France, who were eager to acquire and display signs of their wealth and cultural taste. These works decorated bourgeois homes as symbols of luxury and leisure. Though seemingly apolitical, paintings of flowers helped shape cultural values. Renoir was associated with the Impressionist movement, which challenged the conservative French Academy of Fine Arts. But did paintings such as this challenge the social status quo or reinforce it? Art historians sift through exhibition reviews, artists’ letters, and other primary source documents to better understand the original context and social meaning of a painting like "Roses in a Vase." These resources help us understand not only the subject of the painting, but the social structures of its time.