Critical Analysis II: Pierre-Auguste Renoir and The Statutte of a Woman found at Willlendorf
By:
Art Appreciation ART 1113V1
June 9, 2012

Renoir was born on February 25, 1841 in Limoges, Haute-Vienne, France. His parents were working class, and his dad was a tailor. He was the sixth child. As a boy, Pierre worked at a porcelain factory. He was a skilled artist by that age, because he showed his drawings around at work, and he was chosen to paint designs on the fine china at the Lévy Frères factory. His artistic talent was passed on to other places, and he ended up painting fans and religious wall hangings as well. He would visit the Louvre to go see and study the French master painters in hopes of becoming one of them one day.
Two years later, he painted his most famous work, Bal du moulin de la Galette. It depicted a joyful event, with people dancing and socializing; a passing moment in time. The light bounces off the Parisian jubilee, giving the impression that this is a grand affair. Since some of the people are sliced in half on the edge of the canvas, it gives the illusion that this scene extends beyond canvas. A scene as joyous as this is usually categorized as a “joie de vie,” meaning joy of life. Before Pierre died, he went to Paris in 1919. He went to the Louvre Museum, and saw his paintings hanging with the masters. This is what he waited his entire life for, and it had finally happened. He returned home happy, and died on December 3, 1919 at the age of 78. He is buried in Cagnes-sur-mer.
A few years later, he painted his other well-known work, Luncheon of the Boating Party. This is a Parisian leisure party, meant to portray another passing moment in time. The light shining down on them tells the viewer that it is lunch time. One of the models in the painting, Aline Victorine Charigot, would end up being Renoir’s wife. The people on the boat are all laughing and flirting, having a grand old time.
The Statuette of Willendorf Woman
The figure of the Woman from Willendorf, is an ancient piece of art that the sculptor may have created to symbolize the importance of the role women played in earlier societies. The way the sculptor placed such emphasis on the enlarged stomach and breasts may have suggested that he admired women and appreciated their body. The stomach may have represented the woman being pregnant and that was an image that he wanted to show. The enlarged breasts could represent the body after the woman has the baby and her breasts are full in order to feed their child. The braided hair is possibly a representation of women from that period, which is why he made her faceless.
Looking at it from the front it goes into a diamond shape with rounded edges from top to bottom. The widest center part of the diamond looks to be about 2 inches wide. The image is an obese nude woman's shape with no arms, no lower legs, and no face. The texture of the sculpture seems to be clay, for the black background brings the focus on the woman.
The top, or head of the image, is about the size and texture of a golf ball. The dimpled texture that goes around the head looks like a hair pattern. This pattern goes completely around the head covering the face. I do not understand the reason of the pattern over the face, but it has a very round shape. The way the woman arms are pulled back, seems that he want the focus to be on the center of the body.
The color is neutral, like a light brown. This is a perfect color for the slight light setting and the black background. Balance is achieved with the shape of the women. The image doesn't have a neck, so the round ball shaped head curves immediately into shoulders that stop where the arms should start and go straight down to outline the upper part of the torso. The lower part of the torso curves out dramatically, showing the obesity of the woman's stomach. In the center of the rounded stomach is a very deep belly button. Above the belly sits the woman's breast. They are round and very large, covering the entire chest and middle section of her upper body. They are exaggerated to show the woman's obesity. Below the belly are wide hips and thighs that match the largeness of the woman, but they taper inward to the knee giving the bottom a slimmer look.

Bibliography:
Bell, Jeffrey A. Industrialization And Imperialism, 1800-1914 : A Biographical Dictionary. Greenwood Press, 2002. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 11 June 2012.