''Skaters in the Bois de Boulogne'' (french: Les patineurs à Longchamp) is an oil-on-canvas landscape painting by the French artist

Pierre-Auguste Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "R ...

, created during the winter of 1868. The painting depicts a snowscape with many Parisians, young and old, spending leisure time on a frozen park lake. Due to Renoir's strong dislike of cold temperatures and snow, the piece is one of his few winter landscapes.

Background

(1841–1919) first met landscape painters

Alfred Sisley Alfred Sisley (; ; 30 October 1839 – 29 January 1899) was an Impressionist landscape painter who was born and spent most of his life in France, but retained British citizenship. He was the most consistent of the Impressionists in his dedicatio ...

(1839–1899),

Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During ...

(1840–1926), and figure painter

Frédéric Bazille Jean Frédéric Bazille (December 6, 1841 – November 28, 1870) was a French Impressionist painter. Many of Bazille's major works are examples of figure painting in which he placed the subject figure within a landscape painted ''en plein air''. ...

(1841–1870) at the

art studio A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design, ...

of Swiss artist

Charles Gleyre Marc Gabriel Charles Gleyre (2 May 1806 – 5 May 1874), was a Swiss artist who was a resident in France from an early age. He took over the studio of Paul Delaroche in 1843 and taught a number of younger artists who became prominent, including He ...

in 1861. In addition to their friendship, all would prove influential in Renoir's work. For the next several years, Renoir attended the

École des Beaux-Arts École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth century ...

. He first exhibited a large painting at the

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

in 1863, but destroyed his work. That same year, Renoir was living in a studio with Bazille who introduced him to

Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French artist and Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th-century conception of artistic endeavour to a ...

(1839–1906) and

Camille Pissarro Jacob Abraham Camille Pissarro ( , ; 10 July 1830 – 13 November 1903) was a Danish-French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter born on the island of Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, St Thomas (now in the US Virgin Islands, but t ...

(1830–1903). An early painting, ''The Cabaret of Mère Anthony'' (1866), represents for Renoir "some of the most agreeable memories" of his life with friends at a village inn during this time. He soon moved to the village of Chailly near

Marlotte Bourron-Marlotte () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. In the second half of the 19th century, it was visited by several impressionist painters including Alfred Sisley, Pierre-August ...

and the

forest of Fontainebleau The forest of Fontainebleau (french: Forêt de Fontainebleau, or ''Forêt de Bière'', meaning "forest of heather") is a mixed deciduous forest lying southeast of Paris, France. It is located primarily in the arrondissement of Fontainebleau i ...

, and began working with model

Lise Tréhot Lise Tréhot (14 March 1848 – 12 March 1922) was a French art model who posed for artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir from 1866 until 1872, during his early Salon period. She appeared in more than twenty paintings, including notable works such as ' ...

who posed for him between 1866 and 1872. Renoir began painting at La Grenouillère, a popular middle class day resort with a floating dance hall, in late 1868.Vollard, Ambroise (1925). ''Renoir: An Intimate Record''. Courier Corporation. pp. 9–20. . . Like Monet and several other Impressionists, Renoir worked ''

en plein air ''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or ''plein air'' painting, is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting ...

'', painting outdoors, but unlike Monet, who was known for painting in the cold and snow, Renoir was not fond of cold temperatures. Years later, he told art dealer

Ambroise Vollard Ambroise Vollard (3 July 1866 – 21 July 1939) was a French art dealer who is regarded as one of the most important dealers in French contemporary art at the beginning of the twentieth century. He is credited with providing exposure and emotio ...

that he could not stand the cold: "But then, even if you can stand the cold, why paint snow? It is a blight on the face of Nature." Although it is unknown when his symptoms began, Renoir was known to suffer from

rheumatoid arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects joints. It typically results in warm, swollen, and painful joints. Pain and stiffness often worsen following rest. Most commonly, the wrist and hands are involv ...

from at least 1892 onward, an affliction which would severely restrict his artistic production in late life.

Description

Renoir, who was then 26 years old, painted ''Skaters in the Bois de Boulogne'' in the public park of

Bois de Boulogne The Bois de Boulogne (, "Boulogne woodland") is a large public park located along the western edge of the 16th arrondissement of Paris, near the suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt and Neuilly-sur-Seine. The land was ceded to the city of Paris by t ...

in Paris ''en plein air'' during the cold winter month of January 1868. Newspaper accounts of the time recorded freezing temperatures allowing people to walk across the

Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributarie ...

and ice skate on rivers and streams. Due to Renoir's dislike of cold temperatures, it is one of the few winter landscapes he completed aside from a few minor studies.Groom, Gloria. Jill Shaw (ed). (2014).
Cat. 8 Seascape, 1879: Curatorial Entry
. ''Renoir Paintings and Drawings at the Art Institute of Chicago''. Art Institute of Chicago. Paragraph 2, Footnote 2. . . At the time of the painting, the park itself was relatively new, with construction beginning in 1852 under a public works program led by

Georges-Eugène Haussmann Georges-Eugène Haussmann, commonly known as Baron Haussmann (; 27 March 180911 January 1891), was a French official who served as Prefect (France), prefect of Seine (department), Seine (1853–1870), chosen by Emperor Napoleon III to carry out ...

under the direction of

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

. Under

Haussmann's renovation of Paris Haussmann's renovation of Paris was a vast public works programme commissioned by Emperor Napoleon III and directed by his prefect of Seine, Georges-Eugène Haussmann, between 1853 and 1870. It included the demolition of medieval neighbourho ...

, the Bois de Boulogne was completed in 1858.Bailey, Colin B. Christopher Riopelle (2007). ''Renoir Landscapes: 1865–1883''. National Gallery London. p. 43. . . The scene is thought to have been painted near the ''Lac pour le patinage'' (Skating Lake), an artificial lake. Renoir chose the park because he preferred painting crowds.Sweeney, Jim (Jan–Feb 1999). "The Impressionists Paint Winter: A Special Effect". ''Weatherwise'' (Taylor & Francis Group) 52 (1): 22. . . The painting has an unfinished, sketch-like quality to it, in the style of a

pochade A pochade (from French ''poche'', pocket) is a type of sketch used in painting. As opposed to a croquis, which is line art, a pochade captures the colors and atmosphere of a scene. Generally, pochades use a small, portable format. Robert Henri a ...

, but the brushwork is bold and the

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...

fully realized. The scene represents the western part of the park, using an elevated perspective. The theme evokes older Dutch

ice skating Ice skating is the self-propulsion and gliding of a person across an ice surface, using metal-bladed ice skates. People skate for various reasons, including recreation (fun), exercise, competitive sports, and commuting. Ice skating may be per ...

landscapes made popular by painters like

Hendrick Avercamp Hendrick Avercamp (January 27, 1585 (bapt.) – May 15, 1634 (buried)) was a Dutch painter during the Dutch Golden Age of painting. He was one of the earliest landscape painters of the 17th-century Dutch school, he specialized in painting th ...

(1585–1634). Moffett, Charles S. (ed). Lisa Portnoy Stein (1999). ''Impressionists in Winter: Effets de Neige''. Phillips Collection. pp. 17, 131–133, 212–213. . Herbert, Robert L. (1988). ''Impressionism: Art, Leisure, and Parisian Society''. Yale University Press. pp. 147–150. . . Several dogs can be seen in the work, reflecting Renoir's thematic interest in the lives of the Parisian bourgeoisie. The motif of social leisure depicted in the piece would come to define Renoir's subsequent work.

Other work

Auguste Renoir - Snow-covered Landscape - Google Art Project

There are at least four known snowscapes by Renoir: ''Skaters in the Bois de Boulogne'' (1868); ''Winter Landscape'' (1868); ''Snowy Landscape'' (1870–1875); and another work also titled ''Snowy Landscape'' (1875).As cited in ''Renoir: Paintings and drawings at the Art Institute of Chicago'', paragraph 2, footnote 2: "The four known winter scenes are Skaters in the Bois de Boulogne (1868; Collection of William I. Koch auberville 110; Winter Landscape (1868; sold, Christie's, New York, Nov. 10, 1987, lot 4 auberville 172; Snowy Landscape (c. 1875; Musée National de l'Orangerie, Paris auberville 177; and Snowy Landscape (1875; sold, Sotheby's, London, Feb. 6, 2008, lot 326)." Along with ''Skaters in the Bois de Boulogne'', Renoir would return to the imagery of the Bois de Boulogne years later with a large painting called ''The Morning Ride'' (1873), alternatively titled ''Madame Henriette Darras'', which was rejected by the Salon in that year.

Provenance

The piece is currently held in the private art collection of William I. Koch, who lent the work for exhibition by the

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 paintings and more than 450,000 works ...

in 2005.Forman, Debbie (September 17, 2005).
Millionaire's collection is a wealth of coveted work
" ''Cape Cod Times''. March 30, 2015. Retrieved April 13, 2015. Previous owners include: *

*The Marquess of Northampton *Richard L. Feigen & Co.

Notes

References