Comparitive Essay: Young Girls at the Piano & the Piano Lesson
AN ANALYTICAL & COMPARATIVE STUDY OF
Young Girls at the Piano
PIERRE-AUGUSTE RENOIR
&
The Piano Lesson
HENRI MATISSE
STEPHANIE DAVIS
CONTENTS
1.
2.
4.
6.
8.
9.
Introduction
Young Girls at the Piano
The Piano Lesson
Comparison
Conclusion
Bibliography
AN INTRODUCTION…
In this research paper I will seek to comparatively analyze two distinct works of art – the 1892 painting entitled Jeunes Filles Au Piano (Young Girls At The Piano) by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Henri Matisse’s The Piano Lesson, painted in 1916.
In seeking out works as potential prospects to analyze, my decision process became a matter of immediate response – pieces that made me pause and linger while flipping through the pages were jotted down and included for consideration. Matisse always causes me to linger. Just the bare bones of his work, his expressive colour and style, draw me in. I chose his piece The Piano Lesson purely due to aesthetic preference, and sought out a suitable companion, which came in the form of Renoir’s
Young Girls At The Piano. This stood out as they both share an almost identical theme, young children playing the piano, but are also similar in that to the eye they simulate candid, domestic scenes; another reason for my choosing them.
To some the pieces may seem simple; boring even… but there is something about this type of candid subject matter that always intrigues me. It translates as very intimate, an autobiographic window into an artist’s immediate everyday surroundings, which, when they are revered, suddenly becomes interesting.
In this paper, my objective will be to understand, describe and interpret the two works, subsequently discuss them in a comparative manner as relates to their particular time of creation and note any important observations found.
YOUNG GIRLS AT THE PIANO
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Young Girls At The Piano is an 1892 painting by
Impressionist artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir. From a purely visual,
Young Girls at the Piano
PIERRE-AUGUSTE RENOIR
&
The Piano Lesson
HENRI MATISSE
STEPHANIE DAVIS
CONTENTS
1.
2.
4.
6.
8.
9.
Introduction
Young Girls at the Piano
The Piano Lesson
Comparison
Conclusion
Bibliography
AN INTRODUCTION…
In this research paper I will seek to comparatively analyze two distinct works of art – the 1892 painting entitled Jeunes Filles Au Piano (Young Girls At The Piano) by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Henri Matisse’s The Piano Lesson, painted in 1916.
In seeking out works as potential prospects to analyze, my decision process became a matter of immediate response – pieces that made me pause and linger while flipping through the pages were jotted down and included for consideration. Matisse always causes me to linger. Just the bare bones of his work, his expressive colour and style, draw me in. I chose his piece The Piano Lesson purely due to aesthetic preference, and sought out a suitable companion, which came in the form of Renoir’s
Young Girls At The Piano. This stood out as they both share an almost identical theme, young children playing the piano, but are also similar in that to the eye they simulate candid, domestic scenes; another reason for my choosing them.
To some the pieces may seem simple; boring even… but there is something about this type of candid subject matter that always intrigues me. It translates as very intimate, an autobiographic window into an artist’s immediate everyday surroundings, which, when they are revered, suddenly becomes interesting.
In this paper, my objective will be to understand, describe and interpret the two works, subsequently discuss them in a comparative manner as relates to their particular time of creation and note any important observations found.
YOUNG GIRLS AT THE PIANO
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Young Girls At The Piano is an 1892 painting by
Impressionist artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir. From a purely visual,
Bibliography: top-left curtain, and the inkling of an immediate Young Girls at the Piano, 1892 foreground that is a plush chair at the bottom right, Pierre Auguste Renoir (French, 1841-1919) As in much of Renoir’s work, light is Robert Lehmen Collection, 1975 1 James Leggio, Music and Modern Art, 2001, 51