We're Determined, but Are We Right? Or, the Criterion for Good Determination

The Good Will of Art

I think this 1879 painting by Pierre Auguste Renoir, Margot Berard, shows a beautiful determination. Renoir wanted to get within what this little girl felt. He had found her crying, and after speaking with her he painted her portrait.

You feel her whole self is trying to see something. She is roused and at ease. She is eager and pensive. She looks with sincere interest at something.

The light in this painting, seems to radiate from within her. One of the ways Renoir does this is by showing that the surface of things has depth in it. Take for example the white apron—he paints it with shades of greys, blues, pinks,—he does this with her flesh too. Through the various colors Renoir includes in the surface of her face and the dark blue and white dress, we are brought into the depth of her thought.

Renoir shows that knowing the world including the depths of another person is an exciting, joyous good time. Aesthetic Realism can teach people, as I am so grateful it is me, to have the kind determination that makes us proud.

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