Renoir, Bouquet of Flowers

Flowers were one of Renoir's most beloved subjects, an affection said to date back to his youth, when he worked painting flowers on porcelain. He is said to have preferred painting flowers to painting people, since a bouquet never tires and lets an artist work for hours, free to experiment with color.

This bouquet departs from Renoir's earlier Impressionist manner. Rather than the soft, light-chasing brushwork of his early years, it uses bolder, more intense color, giving the flowers a vivid, saturated presence. The painting seems less interested in capturing a fleeting moment of light than in bringing out the form and texture of each individual bloom, a new direction in his work.