A Nymph by a Stream
- Artist: Pierre-Auguste Renoir
- Date: 1869-70
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Museum: The National Gallery
- Collection record: The National Gallery website
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About this artwork
A Nymph by a Stream is a painting by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, painted in the late 1860s. He took a traditional artistic approach, depicting the woman in a natural setting, reclining by a stream as though she were a naiad from Greek mythology. She's lying on a grassy, flower-flecked bank beside the stream, leaning with her elbow in the brook and allowing the water to flow between her fingers.
Renoir's brushstrokes are so fluid that it's difficult to determine where the bank ends and the water begins. But what's particularly interesting about this painting is its relationship to Renoir himself. The woman depicted here is actually his lover, Lise Tréhot, who was a frequent model for him during this period.
Lise appears in more than 20 of Renoir's paintings from around this time, and she also posed for a companion piece to "A Nymph by a Stream", which depicts her clothed in an oriental costume. The two paintings are almost identical in size and composition, with the position of the figure reversed.
Renoir's depiction of Lise is notable because he doesn't idealize her features as some other artists would have done. Instead, he makes her recognizable, conveying a sense of intimacy and familiarity. This painting is a beautiful example of Renoir's ability to capture the beauty of everyday life and his personal relationships through art.
See it in person
A Nymph by a Stream hangs in The National Gallery on Trafalgar Square, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
