The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Dance at Bougival is a 19th century oil on canvas work by Pierre Auguste Renoir. It was done in the studio, but managed to capture a sunny afternoon at Bougival, which is located just outside of Paris. The open air cafes were frequented by city dwellers. The couple in Renoir’s painting are in motion, as can be seen by the swirl of the girl’s skirt and the blurring of the people in the background. The girl was modeled by Suzanne Valadon, a trapeze artist who became a professional model. Her partner is modeled by Renoir’s friend and ladies’ man Paul Auguste Llhote. Though Valadon’s dress, hat, and haircut are all the latest fashion, the painting has a timeless quality of pleasure and good times.
The Torn Hat, a 19th century oil on panel painting by American artist Thomas Sully, disregards the convention of posing children and dressing them as miniature adults. He chose the informal and realistic way instead, as in this piece. The subject is his son, Thomas, whose torn hat gives Sully a chance to demonstrate his skill at portraying light on skin and fabric.
Woman and Flowers (Opus LIX), an oil on panel work, is a 19th century painting that is possible derived from Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema’s sketches from his honeymoon in Italy. He was particularly fond of Greek and Roman antiquities, and many of his works are inspired by these past works of art. In this painting, a young woman, possibly the artist’s wife, Pauline, is leaning on a Pompeian bronze table to smell the flowers. The model for this table is now housed at the archeological museum of Naples.
Mrs. Fiske Warren and Her Daughter Rachel by American artist John Singer Sargent was done in 1903 with oil on canvas. Sargent was a confident artist who was modern in his approach. This can be seen in the broad stripe of white on the arm of the chair. However, Mrs. Warren’s pose and the Renaissance furniture bring to mind aristocratic paintings of old. At Sargent’s insistence, Mrs. Warren wore a borrowed pink dress for the portrait. She did not like the painting, feeling that it focused too much on her social status rather than her interest in poetry and performing arts.
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