# Two Sisters (On the Terrace)

**Pierre-Auguste Renoir** (French, 1841–1919)  
1881  
Oil on canvas  
100.4 × 80.9 cm (39 1/2 × 31 7/8 in.); Framed: 119.1 × 100.1 × 9.6 cm (46 7/8 × 39 3/8 × 3 3/4 in.)

Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago, 1933.455. [The museum's record](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/14655).

## About this work

Despite the title, the young women in this painting were not actually sisters. The older girl in the center gazes absently beyond her younger companion, whose red cheeks suggest that she just dashed into the picture. These casual expressions make this “sisterly” moment feel genuine. Renoir juxtaposed the girls’ figures against a dreamy landscape, the basket of yarn evoking an artist’s palette.

_Text from the Art Institute of Chicago._

Pierre-Auguste Renoir painted this in 1881, aged 40. It is now at the Art Institute of Chicago.

### What you’re looking at

Impressionist painting of two girls on balcony, bright flower hat, knitting basket.

_Description from the Art Institute of Chicago._

### How it was made

- **Oil paint.** Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.

### [Pierre-Auguste Renoir](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/pierre-auguste-renoir)

French, 1841–1919; born in Limoges; died in Cagnes-sur-Mer

Renoir began as a painter of porcelain in Paris, then studied in Gleyre’s studio, where he met Monet, Sisley and Bazille. In the 1870s he was a central figure of Impressionism, painting Parisians at leisure in dappled light. A journey to Italy in 1881–82 led him towards firmer drawing and more classical compositions. Despite severe rheumatoid arthritis in later life he continued to paint, settling at Cagnes-sur-Mer on the Mediterranean, where he died.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Painting
- Culture: France
- The artist was 40
- Real size: about 39 × 31 in (100 × 80 cm). The 30 × 40 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 19th century
- Movement: [Impressionism](https://www.ochreeditions.com/movements/impressionism)
- Subjects: sisters, families, girls, lake, water, trees, buildings, basket
- Colour: olive
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/37.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/37/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108; 30 × 40 in $148
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258; 30 × 40 in $338
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148; 24 × 36 in $178; 30 × 40 in $228
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5; 30 × 40 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/two-sisters-on-the-terrace-aic-14655).