Kiss Renoir’s, Make Love to Picasso’s and Marry Monet’s — Part 1

The First Kiss

For the past two years, I have traveled to Europe in the month of September for the love of it. I stayed in Paris three weeks the first trip and two weeks the second, with a short jaunt to Spain. While there I soaked up as much art as I could. I love the museums of Paris and spent much time roaming the galleries of Musee d’Orsay, I’Orangerie, the Louvre, and many more. Due to the subject matter herein most of the paintings were photographed at the Musee d’Orsay, with some exceptions. I have become fascinated with the women subjects of many of the artists in the galleries of Paris. I wanted to learn more about the women of Renoir and their innocence, the artistry of Picasso’s, and the delicate flowers of Monet. Those are just to name a few, so let’s begin with a kiss.

La Balancoire (The Swing)
Pierre Auguste Renoir

The lady of La Balancoire looks away rather bashfully, in Renoir’s work which was displayed at the third Impressionist exhibition in 1877, and was completed in 1876. The model is Jeanne, who was a young actress living in Montmartre. She wears what appears to be flowers in her hair, as she seems to react to a compliment, joke, flirtation, or other endless possibilities. Pierre Auguste Renoir wanted to convey the effects of sunlight in this painting. The dashes of light are stroked onto the subject's clothing and on the ground. Jeanne’s dress is whisping in the wind as the breeze plays with her dress and through the trees, allowing splashes of light to play on the scenery below. This playful piece depicts a lightheartedness, as it leaves one to imagine the wind and light through the flowers in Jeanne’s hair, and dancing on the ribbons on her dress, as she billows on the swing. A lady to be kissed indeed!

Bal du moulin de la Galette
(The Ball at the Moulin De Galette)
Pierre Auguste Renoir