The Clearing 

Pierre-Auguste Renoir made this painting, The Clearing, with oil on canvas. Made in France at a time of rapid industrialisation, this landscape encourages us to consider a changing society. We can see the influence of impressionism in the loose brushstrokes and focus on light and colour, but Renoir's work departs from his contemporaries. The landscape tradition in French art had always been tied to social themes, and the artist breaks with this. Instead, he invites us to contemplate the natural world for its own sake. The lack of any overt social or political commentary suggests a shift in the artist's role. Is Renoir rejecting the idea of art as a tool for social change? To understand this, one would need to look at the changing relationship between artists, the art market, and the institutions of art. By studying exhibition histories and the writings of critics, historians trace how artists adapt to social and economic change. The meaning of art is contingent on the society in which it is made.