The Art Institute of Chicago

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A light-skinned man and woman stand looking at each other, surrounded by blooming flowers and lush green trees in this square landscape painting. The palette is dominated by shades of vibrant green and blue, and is loosely painted with daubs and short strokes, making details indistinct. The people stand to our left of center and both are dressed in navy blue. The man stands facing our right, almost in profile, and bends forward slightly with one hand gesturing toward the flowers. He wears a vest and trousers, a white shirt, and a butterscotch-gold hat. The woman stands near him to our right, and faces us with her head turned to look at the man. She wears a long gown, a cherry-red hat, andwhat appears to be a denim-blue and cherry-red scarf around her neck. The trees fill right half of the painting, and the profusion of flowering bushes closest to us almost spans the width of the scene. Their blooms are suggested with touches of rose and petal pink, cream white, mustard yellow, and azure blue. More flowering bushes behind the man and woman are suggested by loosely painted areas of parchment white and laurel green, with scattered dots of poppy red. Pale pink clouds swirl through the topaz-blue sky in the upper left corner. The artist signed the painting in the lower right, “Renoir.”
Auguste Renoir, Picking Flowers, 1875, oil on canvas, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection, 1970.17.61

Picking Flowers

Auguste Renoir · 1875 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1970.17.61

Emil Nolde, Gentleman in a Top Hat (Dr Gustav Schiefler), 1911, lithograph on japan paper, Gift of Ruth Cole Kainen, 2012.92.422

Gentleman in a Top Hat (Dr Gustav Schiefler)

Emil Nolde · 1911 · lithograph on japan paper ·  Accession ID  2012.92.422

Master MZ, Madonna and Child at a Fountain, 1501, engraving on laid paper, Rosenwald Collection, 1946.21.139

Madonna and Child at a Fountain

Master MZ · 1501 · engraving on laid paper ·  Accession ID  1946.21.139