Pierre-Auguste Renoir - The Mussel Harvest (1879)

 

Source: National Gallery of Art

Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s “The Mussel Harvest,” painted in 1868 while he was at the height of his popularity, is a beautiful oil canvas depicting people working on the rocky shores of France’s Normandy region, harvesting mussels (or oysters) with nets and scoops. In a stylized manner, Renoir lovingly captures each individual worker in his masterpiece. It is an example of Impressionism and Pointillism, two styles of painting of the mid-19th century. Although not well known today, this painting was widely appreciated when it was finished in 1882.