[Analysis] Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s “Pont Neuf, Paris” not only reflects the typical Impressionist way of painting, but also outlines the artist’s passion for participating in the everyday hustle of the city.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s “Pont Neuf, Paris,” currently exhibited at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., portrays Paris’s oldest bridge, the Pont Neuf (New Bridge). Created in 1872, the oil-on-canvas piece belongs to the Alisa Mellon Bruce Collection and was initially purchased from the artist by Paul Durand-Ruel, the Impressionists’ most significant supporter. The landscape painting shows a vibrant and crowded Pont Neuf on a shiny afternoon, with the densely populated Parisian cityscape in the backdrop.
On the ancient bridge spanning the river Seine, people of all classes go about their ways: women with varicolored parasols, elegant gentlemen, a gendarme in a dark-blue uniform, soldiers, a man carrying a crammed basket, and vendors pulling goods in a wheelbarrow. In addition, horse-drawn carriages ride in both directions, and a multileveled omnibus appears in the distance. Sophisticated streetlamps are lined along the bridge railing, and the French flag gleams with the colors blue, white, and red. Fluffy cloudlets speckle the bright sky, and the Seine glistens in blue and green. The equestrian statue of Henry IV can be recognized from afar.
Renoir captured this lively city scene with rapid brushwork, paying homage to the Impressionists’ techniques. This quickly produced work portraying the everyday hustle of the French capital was created from the upper-floor window of a café overlooking the bridge. Blue tones dominate the scenery; even the shadows are kept in cool dark blues. The bright white-yellowish pavement reflects the dazzling sun at its zenith. People’s faces are depicted imprecisely and vague, in the characteristic “unfinished” Impressionist style of painting.
A typical Impressionist feature was likewise capturing the world outside and portraying the way a particular scene looked at a specific moment. According to art historians, Renoir deeply enjoyed the busy, colorful, and easygoing urban life — his passion can certainly be reflected in this canvas. An interesting detail: Renoir’s younger brother Edmond, who helped the artist by asking questions to passers-by, giving his brother time to sketch them, is depicted twice in the piece wearing a straw hat. Overall, this vibrant artwork not only reflects the typical Impressionist manner of painting but also underlines Renoir’s ardor for the busy Parisian city life.
