Arum and Conservatory Plants

French artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir painted this Arum and Conservatory Plants in 1864, early in his career before Impressionism had a name. The composition shows white arum lilies amid the lush greenery of a greenhouse, with soft natural light filtering through the glass. Renoir was 23 and had recently entered the studio of Charles Gleyre.

At Gleyre's atelier, Renoir befriended Monet, Sisley, and Bazille. They would spend the next decade developing the radical approach to light and color that became Impressionism. This early floral work shows Renoir already experimenting with quick brushstrokes and the play of green foliage against white blooms.

The painting now resides at the Oskar Reinhart Foundation in Winterthur, Switzerland. Renoir would go on to become one of Impressionism's most beloved painters, though his later work moved toward more classical forms. This youthful canvas captures the moment before his transformation.