Pierre-Auguste Renoir

The present work is an exceptional example of Renoir's depictions of roses, as he uses strong and sensual pinkish reds with touches of yellow and blue-green tones applied thickly and energetically, clearly conveying his fascination with color and paint .

Renoir took great pleasure in painting flowers which appear in a number of his works either as a main focal point or as part of a more varied composition. He viewed painting flowers and indeed still-life painting as a means to explore paint, color and technique and said “Painting flowers is a form of mental relaxation…When I am painting flowers I can experiment boldly with tones and values without worrying about destroying the whole painting” (quoted in Georges Rivière, Renoir et ses amis, Paris, 1921, p.81).