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Pierre-Auguste RenoirFrench, 1841–1919Two Sisters (On the Terrace)
May one see it?
Yes, receiving visitors
Art Institute of Chicago
Room201Chicago, United States
On public display.
- Checked
- 4 hours ago
- In this state since
- Aug 16, 2026
- Source
- The museum's own collection data
About the painting
Two Sisters (On the Terrace) is an 1881 oil-on-canvas painting by French artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. The dimensions of the painting are 100.5 cm × 81 cm. The title Two Sisters (French: Les Deux Sœurs) was given to the painting by Renoir, and the title On the Terrace (French: Sur la terrasse) by its first owner Paul Durand-Ruel.
Renoir worked on the painting on the terrace of the Maison Fournaise, a restaurant located on an island in the Seine in Chatou, the western suburb of Paris. The painting depicts a young woman and her younger sister seated outdoors with a small basket containing balls of wool. Over the railings of the terrace one can see shrubbery and foliage with the River Seine behind it.
Read on
In 1880 to 1881, shortly before working on Two Sisters, Renoir worked in this particular location on another well-known painting, Luncheon of the Boating Party.
Jeanne Darlot (1863—1914), a future actress who was 18 years old at the time, was posing as "the elder sister." It is unknown who posed as the "younger sister," but it is stated that the models were not actually related.
Renoir began work on the painting in April 1881 and on July 7, 1881, it was bought by the art dealer, Paul Durand-Ruel, for 1,500 francs. The painting was presented for the first time to the public at the 7th Impressionist exhibition in the spring of 1882. In 1883 it was known to be in the collection of Charles Ephrussi, an art collector and a publisher, but in 1892 the painting was returned again to the collection of the Durand-Ruel family.
In 1925, the painting was sold to Annie Swan Coburn from Chicago for $100,000. After her death in 1932 the painting was bequeathed to the Art Institute of Chicago, where it has remained since 1933.
Particulars
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Art Institute of Chicago: the museum's own open data · fetched 4 days ago
- Image: Wikimedia Commons — Public domain (PD-Art)
Meanwhile, in the life of Pierre-Auguste Renoir
The whole life1879
Triumph at the Salon of 1879
Presenting "Portrait of Madame Charpentier and Her Children" and the full-length "Portrait of the Actress Jeanne Samary," Renoir won universal recognition, and with it financial independence.
1880
Meeting Aline Charigot
Renoir met the young seamstress Aline Charigot — his future wife. His happiness with her colored the works of his so-called "Ingres" period.
1881
Algeria, Madrid, Italy
Renoir traveled to Algeria, the land of Delacroix, then to Madrid to see the works of Velázquez, and to Italy, where he saw Titian in Florence and Raphael in Rome. The journey convinced him that with Impressionism he had "reached the limit," and turned him toward classicism.
6 July 1881
Daughter born: Lucienne Bisson
1882
Pneumonia
Renoir suffered a bout of pneumonia that permanently damaged his respiratory system, and spent six weeks convalescing in Algeria.
1883–1890
The "Ingres" period
Impressed by the classics of the Italian Renaissance and by Ingres, Renoir effectively broke with Impressionism: his lines became crisp, his colors more restrained and cooler. The artist himself called this period "sour"; it includes "Dance in the Country," "Dance in the City" and "Dance at Bougival."
