The Great Bathers by Pierre-Auguste Renoir was created between 1884 – 1887. The painting is in Philadelphia Museum of Art. The size of the work is 117,8 x 170,8 cm and is made of oil on canvas.
Although this painting depicts a fleeting moment when one bather playfully threatens to splash a companion, it has a timeless, monumental quality. The sculptural rendering of the figures against a shimmering landscape and the careful application of dry paint reflect the tradition of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century French painting. Renoir–in an attempt to reconcile this tradition with modern painting–labored over this work for three years, making numerous preparatory drawings for individual figures and at least two full-scale, multifigure drawings… (read more in Philadelphia Museum of Art)
About the Artist: French artist and Impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir was born in Limoges, Haute-Vienne, France. Although Renoir displayed a talent for his work, he frequently tired of the subject matter and sought refuge in the galleries of the Louvre. The owner of the factory recognized his apprentice’s talent and communicated this to Renoir’s family. Following this, Renoir started taking lessons to prepare for entry into Ecole des Beaux Arts… read more
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