Ruth Leon recommends… Renoir’s The Umbrellas – National Gallery
Ruth Leon recommendsRenoir’s The Umbrellas – National Gallery
Join us for a rainy day in Paris as National Gallery Educator, Belle Smith, introduces us to The Umbrellas (about 1881–6) by the French artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841–1919). It was presented at an Impressionist exhibition in New York in 1886.
Immerse yourself in the crowd beneath their brollies. Observe how their hands and feet intertwine in the composition of bright oranges, blues and greens.
What do you think the expressions of the young woman and little girl, looking out at us from the picture, are saying? And why do you think there are two different styles of women’s clothes in the picture, alert as Renoir was to women’s fashions of the day?
This film is part of the National Gallery’s ‘National Treasures’ series. As part of the Gallery’s Bicentenary celebrations, they are examining 12 loaned paintings from partner venues throughout the UK, providing expert commentary on them.
This work has always been one of my favourites. The young woman is engaging and the composition is so right. The fashions are different because Renoir painted it with a gap of a number of years. It is a delight!