Girls at the Piano (Renoir)

One of the joys of art (whether it is in reading a novel, enjoying a painting, or listening to a beautiful musical work) is seeing ourselves. Recognizing our own reflection in art can be far more revealing than a mirror.

As children, my sister and I gazed at Renoir's paintings of two girls and imagined we were the girls in the scenes. We really didn't resemble them closely, but we identified with them immediately.

Renoir's La Lecture (below) hangs in the playroom. It is the same print that hung in my bedroom before I was married. Looking up at the picture yesterday, Kaira said, "Kendra and I like to think that those girls are us." I smiled at my two eldest daughters, one with long chestnut hair, and the other a fair blonde, and wondered how many young girls have seen themselves in that picture.

La Lecture (Renoir)