Still Life with Grapes 

Curator: What a luscious assortment of fruits! Renoir really knows how to tempt the eye. Editor: He certainly does! This is "Still Life with Grapes," rendered in oil paint. The exact year it was created is unknown, but what we can observe is fascinating, starting with the materiality and its effect. Doesn’t the thickness of the impasto make you want to reach out and touch those grapes? Curator: Absolutely, I'm practically drooling just looking at it! The light shimmering off those grapes is mesmerizing. What I find so fascinating is that he doesn't just render fruit, he renders life and abundance. It’s more than just representation. Editor: Precisely. If we unpack Renoir's strategy here, what do we find in terms of structure? How are our eyes directed through this composition? Notice how the draped cloth sets a soft horizontal plane. From there, Renoir deftly places different color temperatures to push back or pull forward spatial cues in our perception. Curator: Hmmm… you are making me think about that a little more closely, which is good. What appears at first glance, or taste I should say, a casual composition, definitely rewards closer examination. The light reflecting on those plump little globes does seem purposefully considered! The overall harmony is just wonderful. Editor: I concur completely! Moreover, consider how he renders various textures and plays of light! He's able to give volume and palpable form to those figs and pomegranates in all their forms and hues through clever chromatic arrangement. The brushstrokes almost give life and a type of visual metabolism. Curator: I couldn't agree more! Looking closely I even sense how the juice in the flesh of the fruit must shimmer in the right light, which I also believe captures some qualities that would translate from a plein-air aesthetic into this type of studio work. To think it is possible to give gourmand presence to a single dab of paint, that is what makes this painting so wonderful! Editor: Yes. A truly rich work, the formal analysis reveals how profoundly studied is Renoir’s eye, in order to distill from it the appearance of effortlessness! I see more each time I consider Renoir and his enduring body of works. Curator: Me too. It's those little nuggets of visual surprise that keep you engaged. "Still Life with Grapes" and other similar still lifes never fail to delight.