La Grenouillere

On reading Angry young man, an article on Renoir and his works, I immediately thought of La Grenouillere, the day trip haunt for Parisians. As the story goes, in the late 1860s, Monet lived near La Grenouillere and along with good friend Renoir, was in the habit of setting up the easel on a floating platform that commanded a good view of the cafe and the tiny island where people liked to sit. They painted many impressions of the place.

What I wanted to share here are two paintings, both titled La Grenouillere, one by Renoir and the other by Monet, both painted from a similar viewpoint. The paintings leave me speechless. Somehow, they are both beautiful, alike, yet so very different. Renoir's people are centrestage while in Monet, the water gets all the attention.

Renoir:


Monet:


Related:
Impressionism