By the Seashore

By the Seashore
by-the-seashore-1883-renoir
Artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Year 1883
Medium Oil on canvas
Location Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York
Dimensions 36 1/4 x 28 1/2 in.
92.1 x 72.4 cm
Famous Paintings by Renoir
Le déjeuner des Canotiers
Bal du moulin de la Galette
La Grenouillère
The Swing (La Balançoire)
Two Sisters (On the Terrace)
Two Young Girls at the Piano
A Girl with a Watering Can
Dance in the Country
By the Seashore

The French impressionist, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, painted By the Seashore in 1883. The Havemeyer family donated the painting to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 1929. It is an oil on canvas work and measures 36.25 by 28.5 inches. The painting is of a young female sitting on a wicker chair at the base of a seaside cliff.

Location

It is believed the work was executed after Renoir had returned from a vacation on the island of Guernsey, and some experts think the background is a scene from the island. Others believe the seaside location is in Normandy. Most are agreed that the painting was completed with the model, Renoir’s future wife Aline Charigo, sitting in the artist’s studio.

Style

The work is typical of the style of many of Renoir’s paintings once he had moved on from wholly impressionist works. Renoir relied on sales of his paintings for his living, and his works were intended to be appealing, adding to their sales potential.