Parisiennes in Algerian Costume or Harem

Pierre-Auguste Renoir

1841 - 1919

Parisiennes in Algerian Costume or Harem

1872
Oil on canvas 156 x 128.8 cm
Signed and dated lower left: A. Renoir. 1872.
Matsukata Collection
P.1959-0182

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This is a representative work of Renoir's 31st year and of his early period. The vertical composition, the depicted figures, the feeling of the setting, the warm palette, and the Arabian style costumes all clearly reflect Delacroix's famous work in the Louvre,"Algerian Women"(1834). During this period Renoir was copying Delacroix's works and studying the fresh color effects and dramatic expression of this Romantic genius. This painting demonstrates the beginning of his lmpressionist tendencies and his subsequent use of a warmer palette.

(Source: The Digital Gallery. 1999-2006)