Composition, Five Bathers c. 1917 - 1918

Renoir made this painting, Five Bathers, probably towards the end of his life. It's easy to get lost in the rosy flesh tones and soft, hazy brushstrokes, but I like to think of it as a testament to the joy and labor of putting paint on canvas. Look closely, and you'll see how the forms of the women are built up with layers of color. There's a real physicality to the medium here; it's like he's sculpting with paint. See how the light catches the raised edges of the brushstrokes around the figure standing on the left? It gives her body a three-dimensional quality, as though she's emerging from the canvas. Renoir was clearly looking at painters like Titian. You can see echoes of the Renaissance in the composition and the idealized figures, but with a more personal, sensual twist. He invites us to revel in the act of seeing, to appreciate the beauty of the human form, and the endless possibilities of paint.