Les baigneuses (Bathers)
c. 1918
Oil on canvas
80 x 65 cm (26.5 x 32 in)
The Barnes Foundation, Merion, Pennsylvania
Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841–1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style.
As a celebrator of beauty, and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "Renoir is the final representative of a tradition which runs directly from Rubens to Watteau."
`Why shouldn't art be pretty?', Renoir said, `There are enough unpleasant things in the world.' `I never think I have finished a nude until I think I could pinch it.'
