Gabrielle 1907

Pierre-Auguste Renoir made this painting of Gabrielle with what looks like oil on canvas. Notice the dominant warm hues, how Renoir’s strokes seem to caress the surface, giving a sense of movement and life. I wonder what it was like for Renoir in the studio with Gabrielle? Did she sit patiently as he captured her likeness? Or did they talk and laugh, Renoir trying to catch a fleeting expression? Looking closely, I see a dance of brushstrokes that model her face. Pink and red create the rosy cheeks, while soft whites give volume to the folds of the fabric around her shoulders. It's like he’s building her form out of pure color. Renoir, like many of us painters, was in conversation with those who came before and those painting alongside him, each stroke a response to the language of painting itself. The feeling of a painting, the feeling of paint, never gets old for me!