Two Young Women in a Landscape 1916

Pierre-Auguste Renoir made this painting, Two Young Women in a Landscape, with oil on canvas, and just look at the way those strokes bloom! The whole scene is alive with feathery brushstrokes, especially in the foliage, where greens and yellows just vibrate with light. And the girls, they're not so much painted as breathed onto the canvas. I love how Renoir doesn't outline them; they just emerge from the scene like part of the landscape. Look at the seated figure. See how her dress is built up with layers of pink and white? It's like he's trying to capture the feeling of light on fabric, not just the fabric itself. The paint is applied so loosely, so gesturally, it's as if he's chasing after a fleeting moment. Makes me think of other painters like Berthe Morisot, who also captured light and color so poetically. With Renoir, like Morisot, painting becomes a process of feeling and seeing, more than a rigid record of reality.