Portrait of Jeanne Samary by Auguste Renoir

2:57 PM

Jeanne Samary - Auguste Renoir
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A little bit of history

Date: 1877
Located in the Pushkin Museum in Moscow, Russia.

The woman portrayed in the picture is Jeanne Samary, a very famous actress who worked in the Comédie Française. She posed for many paintings and was admired for her beauty. In this painting she is in her 20’s. When hearing about her death Renoir said: “Her skin! It illuminated everything around it.”

A little bit of technique

The painting has a strong impressionist aesthetic. You can see that color is very important to transmit how luminous her face was. Renoir’s brush strokes are also swift and not very defined. It is considered one of Renoir’s masterpieces and it’s from the period where he created his best impressionist works.

A little bit of enthusiasm

Seriously, I could look at this painting forever. We have the impression that Jeanne Samary must have been that beautiful. By the way, if you see her portraits done by other artists you won’t have this impression. 

The little flowers on her dress and her simple bracelet make her so stylish without looking too dated, (something that unfortunately happens a lot in portraits).

I know I say this a lot (specially about dead famous people), but I wish I could have been her friend. Plus, I can’t get by the fact that she was in the Comédie Française. Ever since I saw “The shop around the corner” I think working there must have been the most glamourous thing ever (maybe I’ll discover, like Clara, that that’s not true).

Well, if I can’t be Jeanne’s bestie, I’ll just admire Renoir’s amazing portrait and try to copy her delicate demeanor.

How do you feel about this painting? Do you like any other paintings by Renoir?

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2 comments

  1. trishieMay 9, 2012 at 3:29 AM

    I think Renoir does the most beautiful paintings. Love the use of colours, and how alive her eyes look in this one

    ReplyDelete
  2. PaulaMay 9, 2012 at 8:33 AM

    I also like his paintings a lot, though this is my favorite. In another portrait he made of her (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Jeanna_Samary-Renoir.png) the colors are a bit darker which makes this one much more vivid and happy.

    Thanks for stopping by!

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Thanks for commenting! Do come back because I usually reply to comments here.