Pierre-Auguste Renoir | Onions, 1881

Renoir painted this casual arrangement of onions and garlic piled on crumpled cloth during a visit to Naples in 1881.
Clear light and fluid brushstrokes define the onions’ round, solid forms and capture the shiny, papery quality of their skins.
Sterling Clark often stated that this was his favorite of the many paintings by Renoir in his collection. | © The Clark Art Institute

Renoir | Bouquet of Chrysanthemums, 1881

Renoir felt that he had greater freedom to experiment in still lifes than in figure paintings.

"When I paint flowers, I feel free to try out tones and values and worry less about destroying the canvas", he told the writer Georges Rivière.

"I would not do this with a figure painting since there I would care about destroying the work". | © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Renoir | Bay of Naples, Evening, 1881

Renoir's painting of Naples focuses on the bustle of daily life near the harbor.

The scene is full of local flavor - characteristic Neapolitan boats, donkeys loaded with supplies, a woman carrying a burden on her head.

In the distance, smoke issues from the mouth of the Mount Vesuvius, a volcano. Parallel strokes of paint structure the composition, with reds and oranges contrasting the purple and blue shadows and yellow and white buildings across the bay. | © The Clark Art Institute

La pittura di Renoir su Napoli si concentra sul trambusto della vita quotidiana vicino al porto.
La scena è piena di sapori locali, tipiche imbarcazioni napoletane, asini carichi di provviste, una donna che porta un peso sulla testa. In lontananza, fumano problemi dalla bocca del Vesuvio, un vulcano.
I tratti paralleli della pittura strutturano la composizione, con i rossi e le arance che contrastano le ombre viola e blu e gli edifici gialli e bianchi attraverso la baia. | © The Clark Art Institute