The artwork titled “The Coiffure” by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, created in 1888, is an oil on canvas that embodies the qualities of the Impressionist movement. This genre painting is part of a private collection and captures a scene from everyday life with a distinct lightness and movement characteristic of Renoir’s style.
The artwork depicts a domestic scene in which one woman is styling another woman’s hair. The scene is intimate, as one can infer from the closeness of the two figures. The seated woman, dressed in white, gazes calmly forward, her demeanor relaxed and passive, as the standing woman attentively arranges her hair. Renoir’s craftsmanship in rendering the texture of the subjects’ attire and surroundings is evident, with the fabric of their clothing and the fringe of the furniture chair captured in vivacious brush strokes. The contrast between the women’s refined dresses and the informal act of grooming adds a layer of complexity to the scene, offering glimpses into personal moments not often shared publicly during that epoch. The backdrop, while muted in comparison to the delicate detail of the figures, suggests the interior of a bourgeois home. The varying intensity and direction of Renoir’s brushwork imbue the artwork with the energy and fluidity that are signature to the Impressionist movement.
