Lise with Umbrella 1867

Pierre-Auguste Renoir painted Lise with Umbrella at an uncertain date using oil on canvas. Renoir began his artistic career during a period of significant social change in France, with shifts in class structures, gender roles, and cultural norms all impacting the world in which he lived. At first glance, the painting seems to simply depict a fashionable woman in a summery landscape, yet the woman depicted is in fact Renoir's then-lover Lise Tréhot. The black accessories and neutral tones used for Lise contrast strongly with the bright whites and pastel colors that were becoming popular in Impressionist paintings. It is almost as if Renoir, through his choice of colors, has tried to portray the complex position of women in 19th-century France, who were expected to be both pure and alluring. The intense shadows cast on Lise's dress seem to suggest an emotional complexity. The decision to paint Lise in such a manner perhaps mirrors the artist's own ambivalence towards his muse, and the constraints that society placed on women. In this way, the artwork acts as a mirror reflecting the push and pull between personal expression and societal expectation.