Renoir, Pierre-Auguste (1841-1919)
La Sortie du conservatoire (Leaving the Conservatory)
1876–1877
Oil on canvas, 187.5 x 117.5 cm
Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia
Renoir uses subtle body language to convey the flirtatious exchanges among a group of young Parisians gathered outside a music school. One man gently nudges his friend into conversation with a woman holding a scroll of paper, likely a piece of sheet music. The artist arranged the seemingly random grouping carefully, using members of his bohemian circle as models. While the painting dates to Renoir‘s impressionist period, its large scale suggests that he may have intended it for the Salon. (BF)