Roses in a vase

Renoir turned to flowers whenever he wanted to paint freely. He once said that working on a spray of roses let him try out tones and touches he would never dare risk on a face, resting his mind while his hand stayed busy. This vase of roses dates from 1890, the year he finally married Aline Charigot, the mother of his eldest son, after years together. The blooms are worked wet and loose, all soft pinks and creams against a dim ground. It hangs today in Limoges, the porcelain city in central France where Renoir was born in 1841 and where, as a boy, he had earned his living painting flowers onto china.