Cagnes Landscape 1911

Renoir made this painting of the Cagnes landscape using oil on canvas. What strikes me is how Renoir’s painting feels like a dance. There's a rhythm in the way he builds up the layers of paint, almost like he’s sculpting with colour. You can really see Renoir’s hand in the way he’s applied the paint, thick and gestural in some areas, almost translucent in others. The colours – a warm, earthy palette of yellows, browns and oranges – create this hazy, dreamlike effect, but it’s those individual marks that give the painting its energy. Look at how he’s rendered the foliage in the foreground; each stroke is distinct, a flurry of movement. It's like he’s trying to capture not just the appearance of the landscape, but the feeling of being in it, the rustling of leaves, the warmth of the sun. For me, this piece sits nicely with what Cezanne was trying to do, that kind of feeling of being in a landscape. Both artists embrace ambiguity, allowing for multiple interpretations.