Pierre-Auguste Renoir: Young Mother (Jeune m鑢e); Pierre-Auguste Renoir; 1881; Oil on canvas; Renoir painted this scene of a peasant girl holding a child during a trip to Naples in 1881. Dissatisfied with his drawing skills; he had travelled to Italy to study the ancient frescoes and Italian Renaissance masters; the paintings of Raphael in particular had a "simplicity and grandeur" that Renoir sought to achieve in his own work. One can see the Italian painter's influence here; in the balanced arrangement of the rosy-cheeked figures and the gentle interaction between them. It is almost as if Renoir has created a modern; secular take on the Madonna and Child subject.; Overall: 47 3/4 x 33 3/4 in. (121.3 x 85.7 cm)