Home/Symbols/Lit cigaretteLit cigarette SymbolismMarker of the present moment and the final rite of a leisurely meal; a pause before dispersalCommon ThemesLoneliness & isolationThe modern lens: urban life & speedMortality & transience (memento mori)Seasons & cyclesLeisure & recreationFashion & adornmentArtworks Featuring This SymbolAfter the LuncheonPierre-Auguste Renoir (1879)After the Luncheon crystallizes a <strong>suspended instant</strong> of Parisian leisure: coffee finished, glasses dappled with light, and a cigarette just being lit. Renoir’s <strong>shimmering brushwork</strong> and the trellised spring foliage turn the scene into a tapestry of conviviality where time briefly pauses.
