Two Sisters (On the Terrace) by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

The 1881 Pierre-Auguste Renoir work Two Sisters (On the Terrace), like The Luncheon of the Boating Party (1880-81), is set on the upper terrace of the Restaurant Fournaise. However, the time of the year is spring. The flowering plants and vines behind the terrace rail have just come into bloom, and in the distance Renoir's full cumulus clouds appear as bluish, glistening reflections on the river. The sitters in Two Sisters (On the Terrace), who in fact were not related, wear bright, strong colors in front of the more delicate palette of foliage and flowers.

Two Sisters (On the Terrace) by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (oil on canvas, 39-9/16x37-/8 inches) is housed at the Art Institute of Chicago.

The subject of young women was one Renoir returned to repeatedly. On the next page we'll see another example of this.

For more on Impressionist paintings, artists, and art history, see:

• Impressionism
• Vincent van Gogh
• Claude Monet