Two Young Girls at the Piano

My favorite Renoir painting is "Two Young Girls at the Piano". It's part of my Internet album from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I've never replaced it since I started the album many years ago. A neat thing about the web site is that you can enlarge the paintings and peer closely at a pleat in a dress, or a special looking slipper or the red tulips in field.
One day I had an "Ah Ha!" moment. I would do my own version of "Two Young Girls at the Piano"!
I just happened to have the 2 young girls and I just happened to have the piano.
The young girls were my granddaughters. Robyn in the pink shirt. And Amy at the keyboard. These two also happen to be real musicians. Amy is an accomplished pianist, and Robyn an accomplished bassoonist! So you can see why this whole scenario seemed like a picture just waiting to happen. They were younger then, and still willing to go along with another one of Grandma's weird ideas. I emailed them the picture, explained the plan and they sent "It's good for me, Grandma. It'll be fun".
We were planning a baseball weekend, and both families were expected, so I decided it was now or never. When the baseball was done and before they disappeared for one of their talk and talk and talk sessions, I said "okay girls - take your places. Let's get the show on the road!"
I had printed the Renoir so they could literally study it and position themselves as closely to the original as possible. We took several takes and tried different chairs, different objects on the piano. We stared and stared at the attempts, and everyone had their own ideas as to how to improve the picture. When I left the scene, they continued fooling around at the piano for an hour before heading to a corner where the bothersome boys wouldn't find them.
I made Robyn and Amy photo books, and I included the shot you see here.
In 1892 Renoir billed his painting as an "intimate and engaging scene of bourgeois domestic life." And you know what? I'm completely okay with that.