Pierre-Auguste Renoir called Dance at Bougival - Essay Example

The essay "Pierre-Auguste Renoir called Dance at Bougival" discovers the artwork of Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Renoir paints them in such a way as to allow us a glimpse of the emotions that they could be feeling at the time. Everything and everyone in that painting is treated as a back drop to the dancing couple as was the case with many of his paintings at this period of time. This treatment of the other people as background increases the draw of the two central characters, which Renoir has drawn with garments and head gear that immediately separates them from the rest of the painting.

This separation is achieved by the use of bright primary colors for the head gear with the lady wearing a red, wide brimmed hat and the gentleman’s face being obscured by a yellow hat with a thinner brim. The use of opposite colors, black for the man and white or off white for the woman, also draws attention to the contrast. The feeling is received by the viewer that all arts have been used in order to ensure that the viewer is immediately drawn into the picture towards the two principal subjects.

The setting of the picture in an area that is surrounded by greenery and plants and the use of almost smudged color, such as that which was typically seen in his Impressionist paintings, makes the starkness of the lady’s face even more arresting. The obscuring of the man’s face also ensures that the dancing woman is the principal focus of the picture over all else. The softening of all lines apart from those on the two characters.. This artwork can be classified as a realistic piece of art since the figures that are painted are true to the real characters, but there is still a strong element of Impressionism in the painting.

This is particularly noticeable in the use of color in the artwork even though he had acquired inspiration from visitng other areas of the world which altered his style of art from the purely Impressionist. This artwork was painted at a point in time where Renoir had moved a way from the Impressionist movement that he started along with Monet and Sisley. This is where he began to focus more on the central character, in this case two central figures, as in a portrait. This artwork was completed along with two other paintings and this group became known as the dancing series.

This painting was set in the least formal setting of the three, adding a feeling of relaxation and enjoyment to the painting. This artwork was intended purely to bring joy and beauty to the world since it has no overt religious or political significance. It is appears to be purely the artist's representation of the two figures that he is watching as they are dancing. This was painted after Renoir returned from a trip abroad that is believed to have altered his style of art and his representation of his subject matter.

The painting was produced in 1883 at a point in his career where he was attempting to make a break from the rules that had been imposed on the Impressionist artists. He then began embracing more obvious lines that brought the focus of the viewer more strongly to the principal subject matter. The actual coloring of the painting was also designed to show a greater contrast between the principal subject matter and what was viewed as the backdrop to