La Grenouillère

In 1869, Renoir and Monet produced a whole series scenes of modern life painted outdoors. Their subject was La Grenouill�re (literally “frogpond”). Situated on the banks of the Île de Croissy on the Seine near Paris (opposite Bougival), La Grenouill�re was an elegant establishment built on a barge and combining bathing cabins and a restaurant. It was reached by footbridges and a small island with a tree, from which one watched the bathers. The island forms the centrepiece of a pair of twin compositions by the two artists. Monet’s is the more structured, while Renoir’s is livelier, more tightly framed, and more picturesque. Both paintings devote much attention to the reflections of trees, people, and sky in the rippling water.