The Excursionist, Pierre-Auguste Renoir

The Excursionist, Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1888)

The female figure is seated facing forward, looking at the viewer. The walking stick in her hand provides the only explanation for the title of the painting. The elements forming the landscape are very vague and appear more as coloured notes used to support the more pronounced colour of the figure.

A transitional piece, The Excursionist was painted in thin layers that allow for the subtle passage from one colour to the next. The Impressionist brushstrokes are practically gone, giving way to a smooth and fluid painting style. Typical of Renoir's portrayals of young women in the first decade of the 20th century, this peaceful and luminous painting appears to be the picture of happiness, as handed down to us by the Impressionist masters.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) 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.