Couronne De Roses c. 1858

Editor: So, this is "Couronne De Roses," or "Crown of Roses," by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, painted around 1858 using oil on canvas. I am struck by how…delicate it is. The soft pinks and whites create a very gentle, almost ethereal mood. It is… nice, I guess, but I do not quite understand why… What do you see when you look at it? Curator: Delicate is spot on, truly. It's Renoir so young, not yet the Impressionist we all know and love, is he? A painter still finding his voice but listen carefully to the notes. Imagine, if you will, a young artist captivated not just by how light dances on petals – the later Renoir we expect – but with an echo of Romanticism lingering. Close your eyes. Imagine the air thick with the perfume of these roses. The perfect crown is perhaps an early contemplation on beauty’s ephemeral nature. Editor: Hmm, interesting…ephemeral. Do you think that is why he left the centre blank? It does create this sort of…void. Curator: Yes, or the promise of what is to come: the void of potential and possibilities, even? Or maybe... it needed the light of the sun in the empty part... Why does something have to be *filled* to feel whole? Early Renoir invites questions more than pronouncements, right? Editor: Absolutely! That tension, between delicate beauty and emptiness, I am sure, would make people stop to look and contemplate for a moment or two. Thanks. Curator: Thank you for guiding my senses. What can the roses still tell us now, is the thing.