Arcadópolis
The Engaged Couple (The Sisley Couple)
Pierre-Auguste Renoir, c. 1868
What you see
A couple poses full-length in a garden. He stands on the left in a dark jacket, black bow tie and grey trousers, leaning toward her and gazing at her. She holds his arm but looks out at us with a serious expression. Her wide dress, with its striped skirt, fills the whole lower right. Trees and grass lie behind them.
The reds and yellows of her skirt and bodice are the liveliest colors here, along with her white sleeves and a ruffled grey drape falling over her hip. The green background is painted softly, a little blurred. Notice their joined hands at the center and the red flower in her hair.
About Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Pierre-Auguste Renoir began by painting flowers on porcelain plates and became one of the great Impressionists. He loved to paint happiness: dances, outdoor meals, children and friends in light filtering through the trees. He kept painting into old age, even when he had to have the brush tied to his hand.
More by Pierre-Auguste Renoir
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