The Bathrobe

The bathrobe is yet another great painting by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. It was done in 1889 during the impressionism movement

Renoir was passionate about this technique, and he has used it in many of his paintings. This painting is a simple art made with oil paint and canvas. The original piece was just one, but the museum and art business people are doing reproduction for sale.

The impressionism technique has an interesting background. It was established in 1860 where artists used loose brush strokes and lightened colours. These colours were sometimes unmixed, especially when Renoir would be painting an outdoor painting. The technique was supposed to be advancement from the traditional linear perspective.

However, not every artist embraced it. In fact, salons and exhibitions declined to have paintings done in impressionism style.

Renoir and other artists such as Gustave Courbet and Claude Monet aimed at achieving realism in painting. It is the reason why this painting looks simple without any refinery in the studio.

In the past, artists were seeking perfectionism in painting: idealized forms and right symmetry. Impressionism is about capturing an object or scene in its natural form. Whether it has imperfections and flaws, it does not matter. The painting should capture all details.

The bathroom painting is a lady halfway wrapped in a bathroom, heading to take a bath in an inner room. Depending on the enclosed scene, she is probably from the bedroom, heading to the bathroom. It could also be she is alone or with her confidant. This presumption is based on how she is covered halfway, and part of her body is nude. She can only do so if she is alone or with a confidant. See also The Bath and The Tub by Edgar Degas.

Using a woman in this painting introduces the theme of feminism. Today, this painting inspires women to embrace their womanhood. They should appreciate their forms and body shape. The lady in the painting is proud of who she is. The way she halfway covers her body with the bathrobe means she has accepted herself and how she was created.

Many young women are troubled by their body image. They are not comfortable with how someone's parts have been formed. As a result, they are suffering from low self-esteem. Others are opting for cosmetic surgery and procedures to correct what they feel is ‘wrong’. Renoir’s painting tells women they should be comfortable even in the presence of others.

Another interesting observation in this painting is how the bathrobe has changed over the years. It seems a bathrobe was like wrapping a towel around your body when going to the bathroom. Today, it is a complete garment worn to cover the entire body. The painting is a good item to educate people about the past lifestyles and how they have evolved.

Renoir has enhanced the environment with bright colours to make the lady centre image of the painting. Looking at the painting, Renoir was creative, considering this was an indoor painting. Were it not for his idea of bright colours; the painting would have received a different look. It has achieved the objective of impressionism. The mind perceives what the eye sees.