The Apple Seller
This painting depicts a young country girl offering apples to Renoir's wife, Aline. The boy in the straw hat may be the artist's nephew, Edmond, but the young girl with the ribbon in her hair has not been identified. Bathed in soft, dappled sunlight, the figures are united through the fluid brushstrokes that cover the canvas. The leaping dog provides an accent of humor and motion in an otherwise tranquil scene. The picture was probably completed at Essoyes, in eastern France.
Colors in this work
Details
- Date
- c. 1890
- Medium
- oil on fabric
- Dimensions
- framed: height 0.93 m, width 0.822 m, depth 0.095 m; unframed: height 0.658 m, width 0.545 m
- Origin
- France, 19th century
- Department
- Modern European Painting and Sculpture
- Holding institution
- Cleveland Museum of Art
- Palette
-
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- Image provider
- cleveland-museum-of-art
- License
- CC0-1.0
- Credit
- Bequest of Leonard C. Hanna Jr.
Art Genome Taxonomy
12 tags
Subject Matter
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Scenes of Everyday Life Both · 96%
The catalog describes a young country girl offering apples to Renoir’s wife, while the image shows several people gathered in an informal outdoor interaction.
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Rural Life Both · 93%
The description identifies a country girl and probable completion at Essoyes in eastern France; visually, the figures occupy a wooded countryside setting.
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Figures in Nature Visual · 95%
The figures are situated among dense foliage and tree trunks in an outdoor natural setting.
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Food Both · 99%
Apples are named in the title and description, and a basket of apples is clearly visible at the lower left.
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Animals Both · 99%
The catalog specifically mentions a leaping dog, which is clearly visible across the lower foreground.
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Movement Both · 98%
The museum describes the dog as an accent of motion, and its leap creates a clearly visible diagonal movement in the foreground.
Styles and Movements
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Impressionism Visual · 97%
The image uses soft, broken brushwork, luminous color patches, and an emphasis on changing outdoor light strongly associated with Impressionism.
Visual Qualities
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Bright and Vivid Colors Visual · 92%
Saturated greens and blues dominate the foliage and clothing, punctuated by luminous pinks, reds, ochres, and pale highlights.
Medium and Techniques
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Painting Both · 99%
The Cleveland Museum of Art classifies the work as a painting, and the image visibly presents a painted composition.
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Large Brushstrokes/Loose Brushwork Visual · 97%
Loose, directional strokes remain legible across the foliage, clothing, ground, and figures, producing a soft, tactile surface.
Time Periods
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19th Century Art Metadata · 99%
The museum dates the work to approximately 1890, placing it within the nineteenth century.
Geographic Regions
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French Art Metadata · 99%
The artist is identified as French and the place of origin is listed as France.
Source & rights
Pierre-Auguste Renoir (French, 1841–1919). The Apple Seller. Cleveland Museum of Art.
High-resolution sources
- Original TIFF ↗ 11,502 × 13,993 · Cleveland Museum Of Art · Available