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Two Sisters

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1881

Pierre-Auguste Renoir's Two Sisters, painted in 1881, shows a young woman and a little girl seated outdoors on a terrace with a riverside landscape behind them. The painting is held by the Art Institute of Chicago, where it is one of the best-known Impressionist works in the collection.

Where to see it

Two Sisters is in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, in Chicago. Works can be moved, rotated, lent or taken off view for conservation, so check the Art Institute of Chicago's official website for current display status, opening hours and ticket information before you visit.

What to look for in person

Two faces, two levels of finish

Start with the faces. Renoir paints the older girl and the child with smooth, carefully blended skin tones, soft pinks and delicate shading around the eyes and lips. Then let your gaze drift outward. The further you move from the faces, the looser the brushwork becomes. Clothing, flowers and foliage are built from quicker, more visible strokes. This contrast keeps attention on the sitters while the rest of the picture stays fresh and airy. Standing at different distances shows how these strokes either dissolve into texture or resolve into form.

The red hat and color accents

The most striking note of color is the bright red hat worn by the younger girl. Notice how Renoir repeats warm reds and pinks elsewhere, in the flowers on the older girl's hat and in the yarn in the basket on her lap. These echoes link the two figures and carry your eye around the canvas. Against them, the dark blue of the older girl's dress adds weight and depth. Look at how the white of the child's dress picks up reflected tints instead of reading as flat white.

The terrace and the landscape beyond

Behind the figures, a balustrade and potted plants mark the edge of the terrace, and beyond them is a view of greenery and water with small boats. Renoir treats this background with feathery, broken strokes, so the landscape reads almost as a screen of light and color rather than a deep, measured space. The scene is generally associated with the Seine near Chatou, a riverside area popular with Parisians for boating and leisure. Notice how the cool greens and blues behind set off the warm tones of the figures.

About the painting

Two Sisters dates from 1881, a period when Renoir was painting scenes of modern leisure along the Seine outside Paris. Rather than a formal commissioned portrait, the picture presents an informal moment: two figures pausing outdoors, with a basket of yarn, flowers and a river view arranged around them. The title suggests a family bond, but the painting works less as a record of specific people than as an image of youth, warmth and summer light.

The painting also reflects the early 1880s, when Renoir was rethinking his approach. Compared with some of his earlier, more dissolved Impressionist surfaces, the faces here are more firmly modeled, while the setting retains the loose, vibrant handling associated with Impressionism. Seeing both approaches side by side on one canvas is one of the rewards of viewing it in person.

When you visit, give yourself time to look closely and then step back. Up close, you can follow individual strokes in the foliage, flowers and fabrics. From farther away, the composition comes together: the older girl's dark dress anchors the left side, the child in white and red brightens the center, and the landscape opens up behind them. The tilt of the older girl's head and the child's direct, slightly distracted gaze give the scene a quiet, unposed feeling.

The work belongs to the Art Institute of Chicago, which holds an important group of French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings, so it can be combined with other works of the period in a single visit.

Key facts

More by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

• La Balançoire — Musée d'Orsay
• Jean Renoir sewing
• Luncheon of the Boating Party
• The Great Bathers — Philadelphia Museum of Art
• Dance in the City — Musée d'Orsay
• Girls at the Piano — Musée d'Orsay
• La Liseuse — Musée d'Orsay
• Torse, effet de soleil — Musée d'Orsay
• Mlle Irene Cahen d'Anvers
• Dance at Bougival — Museum of Fine Arts Boston
• Bather with a Griffon Dog
• Bal du moulin de la Galette — Musée d'Orsay

Sources

• Wikidata Q630121
• www.artic.edu