The Blue River

Auguste Renoir

National Gallery of Art

Jewel-toned blue, red, yellow, green, and pearl white brushstrokes swirl and stretch in this loosely painted horizontal landscape painting. The thick texture of the paint throughout evokes the sense of touch, even in this digital reproduction. Cobalt-blue streaks nearly fill the lower half of the composition. Terracotta-orange dabs in the lower left corner suggest rocks and blocky strokes of green in the lower right vegetation. An elongated white triangle to our right in the blue area suggests a sailboat. The far riverbank is painted with thin bands of ruby red, grapefruit pink, and teal green. Trees painted as puffy forms above are layered with wine red, forest green, and canary yellow. Yellow streaks in the water below suggest reflections. The sky is a patchwork of white, azure blue, and touches of lavender purple. The artist signed the lower right corner, “renoir.”