Pierre Auguste Renoir (1841-1919)
Moss Roses

Pierre-Auguste Renoir
《Mos Rose》(1890)
Canvas, oil paint 27x35 cm
Paris, Musée d'Orsay 　

Painting size: Approximately original size
Work code: RenMos

Moss roses are roses with moss-like glandular hairs on their buds, and are a type of old rose called ``moss roses'' in Japan. It is also known as the rose that was born as a result of a mutation and became popular during the Victorian era. The language of flowers is ``respect, confession of love, innocence, cuteness, and adoration.''

This was a work that Renoir painted when he was around 50 years old. It was also a time when the artist had established his own unique style, which was born out of Impressionism and which he continued to explore. Despite this, it can be said that this work is closer to the style of the Impressionist era, as it captures the impression of the layered petals expressed through free touch rather than the original shape of the rose.

This work was acquired by Georges Viot (1855-1939), a physician and Impressionist collector at the time, who kept it until 1907. It then passed into the hands of Paul Jamot (1863-1939), who was a curator in the painting department of the Louvre Museum and was responsible for retrospective exhibitions such as the Monet and Renoir exhibitions, and was eventually donated to the state.