Pont Neuf, Paris

Date: 1872

While his figure paintings are better known, Renoir's landscapes resonate with a vigor and freshness of vision central to the development of impressionism , most apparent here in his transcription of the effects of sunlight. Midday sun suffuses the panorama, its intensity heightening the artist's palette and suppressing incidental detail to clarify the crowded scene.

Edmond Renoir, the artist's younger brother and a novice journalist in 1872, later recounted the inception of this painting in an interview. He told how Renoir secured an owner's permission to occupy an upper floor of a café for one day to depict the view of the famous bridge. Edmond periodically delayed passersby long enough for the artist to record their appearance. Renoir even noted Edmond's presence, walking stick in hand and straw boater on his head, in two locations.

If, as Edmond indicated, Pont Neuf, Paris was painted during a single day, it was preceded by careful preparations, possibly including preliminary delineation of the permanent architectural features. The painting seems more richly nuanced and the subject laden with broader meaning than Edmond's anecdote would suggest. Painted in the wake of the Franco–Prussian War and ensuing civil strife that had devastated France in 1870 and 1871, Renoir's 1872 image shows a representative sampling of French citizenry crossing the oldest bridge in Paris, the intact heart of the recovering country.

Renoir painted picture Pont Neuf, Paris in 1872. Prevailing color of this fine art print is blue and its shape is landscape. This image is printed on demand - you can choose material, size and finishing.

Pierre Auguste Renoir (1841-1919). One of the greatest French Impressionists. He painted modestly, humbly studying the works of other painters. His paintings are spontaneous and full of loose, fine brush strokes. Courbet inspired him to depict everyday scenes of ordinary people and Corot influenced Renoir by his love of nature and the use of subtle tones. However, Renoir was most influenced by Manet, who is known for his colourfulness, small spatial depth and broad brushstrokes. Renoir’s images are direct, capturing the optimistic atmosphere of Parisian streets and cafes. His nudes are known for their purity, fineness, and the play of light on the human body. Among his best-known works are The Swing (capturing a beloved courting scene, a festive moment, full of colour and light), Moulin de la Galette (a symbol of Impressionism showing an open-air summer dance festival), Luncheon of the Boating Party (an idealized portrait of Renoir’s friends, including his future wife). The image shows the abandon of the upper classes and their leisure time. Among his prized paintings is a series of three paintings Dance in the Country, Dance in Bougival and Dance in the City (in which he masterfully painted movement and the atmosphere of dance).