
Two Sisters (On the Terrace)
Pierre-Auguste Renoir · 1881
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Original size
- 100.4 × 80.9 cm (39 1/2 × 31 7/8 in.); Framed: 119.1 × 100.1 × 7.7 cm (46 7/8 × 39 3/8 × 3 in.)
- Currently held
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Movement
- Impressionism
Two Sisters (On the Terrace) is among Renoir's most luminous celebrations of everyday life, its sun-dappled figures and vivid ribbon of flowers making it instantly recognisable as one of Impressionism's warmest achievements. Painted in 1881 at Chatou on the Seine, it belongs to a period when Renoir was at the peak of his confidence — loose, sensuous brushwork evoking texture and light rather than outlining form. The elder figure's direct gaze gives the composition a quiet intimacy, while the younger girl and her basket of wool pull the eye through layers of soft colour and dappled shade. Renoir builds the scene through short, varied strokes that make fabrics, foliage, and skin feel equally alive under the same afternoon light. Despite the title, the two figures were not related; Renoir used unacquainted models and gave the work its familial name simply because the pairing felt natural to him — a detail the Art Institute of Chicago has long noted in its records. A skilled hand-painted oil reproduction works through these same textural decisions stroke by stroke, preserving the warmth and directness that prints flatten into uniformity, and bringing the same quiet companionship of the original into a domestic space.
Hand-painted oil reproduction
Painted in real oil on stretched canvas by master copyists. Delivered unframed — ready to frame at home.
Choose a size
In Renoir's style.
Send us a photograph of your family, pet, or home — we'll paint it as a custom oil on stretched canvas in any style you like. From £220.

← Real customer commission · see the full gallery
Code WELCOME20 at checkout for 20% off your first commission.
Commission yours →




