Vase, Basket of Flowers and Fruit 1890

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, a leading painter of the French Impressionist movement, created this still life of flowers and fruit in oil on canvas. Floral still lifes, like portraits and landscapes, were considered low in the academic hierarchy of painting in nineteenth-century France. Renoir painted these subjects with a focus on color and light, rather than symbolic content, challenging the norms of the French Salon system. However, this wasn't a revolutionary act, more a reflection of a shift in the art market, where there was an increasing demand for decorative paintings from the growing middle class. Looking at Renoir’s early career, we see a struggle to reconcile his artistic ambitions with the need to earn a living. So, while he pushed the boundaries of what was considered acceptable art, he also catered to the tastes of his patrons. By studying the correspondence between Renoir and his dealers, we can understand better how social and economic factors shaped his artistic choices.