It’s day 11 of our Culture Tourist Art Blogmas. And we’re hosting another Impressionist painting today, Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s Skaters in the Bois de Boulogne.
Art Blogmas 2022
Renoir was one of the most famous French Impressionist painters, well-known for his paintings celebrating sensual women. So, this winter landscape painted in 1868 stands out a bit within his work. The urban legend says he couldn’t stand winter and cold and wasn’t painting outside during the wintertime. Thus making this artwork one of his rare landscapes with snow.
⤷ Read more: Impressionists at Musée d’Orsay
Pierre-Auguste Renoir: Skaters in the Bois de Boulogne
In his painting, Renoir shows Parisians ice-skating on a frozen lake in a city park. That particular winter of 1868 was extremely cold in Paris, freezing the Seine River and small lakes in the city. That attracted people to enjoy in ice-skating in the heart of the town.
Renoir wasn’t that interested in nature but rather in the lifestyle of wealthy people from Paris. From how they spend their free time to the clothes they wear and interact with each other.
The colours of the painting are pretty unusual for him. We’re used to vibrant pastel colours in Renoir’s artworks. However, this one almost seems black and white. Unlike how Claude Monet painted snow on his paintings, Renoir mostly uses white and shades of grey. Most of the people in his picture are wearing black clothes, creating a contrast with the white snow.
⤷ Read more: Bring Paris to your home for a day
All of that makes the painting look almost unfinished. However, that monochromatic feel gives it an everlasting calming atmosphere.
If you don’t want to miss other paintings I’ll share with you in this year’s Art Blogmas, be sure to check in here tomorrow morning. Or, follow along on the Culture Tourist Facebook page and Instagram profile.