About this artwork
Renoir painted Oarsmen at Chatou in 1879, during the years when he was painting the leisure scenes of suburban Paris that would become his most popular works. He was 38 years old and had been an Impressionist since the first group exhibition in 1874. He was painting at Chatou, a village on the Seine west of Paris that had become a popular destination for boating and swimming.
The painting shows three rowers on the Seine at Chatou, their boat cutting through the water. The figures are seen from the bank, with the river stretching out behind them. The rowers are painted in quick, loose strokes of color, their bodies twisted in the effort of rowing. The water is painted in horizontal bands of blue and green, with the reflections of the sky and the trees visible on the surface. The far bank is lined with trees, painted in thick, vertical strokes of green.
Chatou was one of the villages on the Seine that the Impressionists made their own. Renoir, Monet, and Sisley all painted there in the 1870s, drawn by the combination of river, gardens, and restaurants that made the village a popular destination for Parisians. The Maison Fournaise, a restaurant and boat rental at Chatou, was the setting for Renoir's Luncheon of the Boating Party (1880-81), now in the Phillips Collection in Washington.
Renoir's paintings of rowers and boating scenes are among the most characteristic works of Impressionism. They combine landscape with figure painting, and they capture the leisure culture of suburban Paris in the 1870s. The paintings are also technical achievements: the water, the reflections, and the figures are all painted with the same loose, broken brushwork, creating a surface that shimmers with light and movement.
Oil on canvas, 81 by 100 centimeters. Renoir painted with short, broken strokes, building the water in horizontal bands of blue and green. The rowers are painted in quick, directional strokes of warm and cool tones, with their bodies described by the direction of the brushwork. The trees on the far bank are painted in thick, vertical strokes of dark green, with the foliage suggested by the texture of the paint. The surface has the fresh, lively quality of a painting made outdoors, with the colors mixed on the canvas rather than on the palette.
The horizontal format and cool palette make this print work well in a living room, dining room, or any room with natural light. The blues, greens, and warm earth tones pair with white walls, natural wood, and rooms with a relaxed or summer mood. The 18x24 size is the best choice, as the composition needs width to read. The painting has a lively, outdoor quality that suits rooms with a casual or recreational mood.
The painting entered the National Gallery of Art in Washington as a gift from Sam A. Lewisohn.
This is a public domain artwork, from the National Gallery of Art, Washington. The image is released under Creative Commons Zero (CC0). We print it on archival matte paper at sizes from 8x10 to 18x24 inches, framed or unframed.
