Flowers 1901

This flower painting was made by Renoir, but we don’t know exactly when. It feels like a space where everything is touched by a caress. The whole painting feels very bodily, it’s all curves. Look at the top right, how the gladiolus sort of dissolves into the orangey background, like a memory or a dream. The brushstrokes are soft and blended, but they create a real texture, especially in the way that the light falls on the vase. I like how you can see the brushstrokes, that the touch of the artist is very present. Renoir, like Manet, really owes a debt to the painters like Velasquez; they were both so interested in the way that paint could describe form, but also be appreciated for its own sake. The point isn't just flowers, but the joy of painting itself.