Critical opinion has gradually turned against Renoir. Over the past 30 years or so he has been quietly written out of the history of modernism by critics and curators who consider his art too safe, too sweet, and above all too middle class, writes Richard Dorment in the Telegraph. The National Gallery's exhibition of Renoir's landscapes challenges that view, offering an altogether more dangerous and experimental artist than the one we know from his nudes, portraits and figure subjects. Renoir painted comparatively few landscapes, but he took risks in them that he didn't take when painting the human figure. And precisely because he made a good living as a portraitist he could afford to be innovative in landscapes that sometimes look so modern you have to look twice to check that they really were painted during the years on which the show focuses (1865-83). Here is an artist whose work we tend to take for granted seen from a different angle in an unexpected light. With their shimmering patches of pure colour, choppy brushwork and light-dappled surface, each is a freely painted sketch, a full-scale study that captures the restless movement and constantly shifting light of actual visual experience. From Feb 20th to May 20th - National Gallery. (For full source and article click the Headline)
Irish Art
Snippets of interest to lovers of Art. News about Irish Artists or otherwise. The odd rant...
Tuesday
Renoir Art In New Light
Critical opinion has gradually turned against Renoir. Over the past 30 years or so he has been quietly written out of the history of modernism by critics and curators who consider his art too safe, too sweet, and above all too middle class, writes Richard Dorment in the Telegraph. The National Gallery's exhibition of Renoir's landscapes challenges that view, offering an altogether more dangerous and experimental artist than the one we know from his nudes, portraits and figure subjects. Renoir painted comparatively few landscapes, but he took risks in them that he didn't take when painting the human figure. And precisely because he made a good living as a portraitist he could afford to be innovative in landscapes that sometimes look so modern you have to look twice to check that they really were painted during the years on which the show focuses (1865-83). Here is an artist whose work we tend to take for granted seen from a different angle in an unexpected light. With their shimmering patches of pure colour, choppy brushwork and light-dappled surface, each is a freely painted sketch, a full-scale study that captures the restless movement and constantly shifting light of actual visual experience. From Feb 20th to May 20th - National Gallery. (For full source and article click the Headline)
Irish Art
