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Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919), Two Girls at the Piano, 1892, French. Oil on canvas. 116 x 81 cm. Courtesy of Musée de l’Orangerie (http://www.musee-orangerie.fr/), Paris, France. Photograph by Erich Lessing © Art Resource, New York, New York.

Like Caravaggio three centuries earlier (JAMA cover, December 12, 2007), Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) chose music and musicians as the subject of a major painting. The choice came naturally. Charles Gounod had once suggested to Renoir's parents that the boy would do well in a musical career. Renoir chose painting, but during his entire life he loved music and was never without a piano. The choice of motif must also have had special significance for Renoir, for the painting would be his reply to an invitation from the French government to create a work for the national collection. Renoir chose two of his favorite models (JAMA cover, May 9, 1980), . . . [Full Text of this Article]

M. Therese Southgate, MD