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Pierre Auguste RenoirAprès le bain (After the bath)Circa 1898
Circa 1898
About the Item
For Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Impressionism's pre-eminent figure painter, depicting the nude was an exercise in bringing the canvas to life. He once said, “I look at a nude, I see myriads of minuscule shades. I have to find those which will make the flesh on my canvas come to life and resonate.” This compelling portrait by Renoir entitled Après le bain presents the nude figure of a woman in a serene, private moment, absorbed in the task of drying herself after a bath. The artist’s mastery of light and shading is incredible, achieving a sense of vitality in this otherwise ordinary scene.
Renoir is celebrated for his figural work, especially his Rubenesque female nudes, however, it was not until the artist was in his forties that he depicted the nude with any frequency. In 1881, Renoir traveled to Italy, where he studied the works of the Renaissance masters and the ancient art of Pompeii and Rome. Upon his return to France, the nude became his favored subject, and he used the motif to combine the spontaneity of Impressionism with the solid modeling of classical painting. Renoir’s medium here, sanguine, a reddish-brown chalk, was used extensively in the Renaissance by Leonardo (who employed it in his sketches for the Last Supper), Michelangelo and Raphael. Its warm hue lends itself well to depicting flesh, and the chalk drawing allows for a greater focus on line, form and texture in a departure from the aspects of color and light that so often preoccupied the Impressionists. Après le bain conveys the impression of arrested motion with perfect naturalness, deftly capturing the moment before the elegant lines of the sitter's form change position.
The sitter is almost certainly Gabrielle Renard, the nanny to Renoir’s children and a frequent model for the artist. Gabrielle was the cousin of Renoir’s wife, Aline, and came to Montmartre to work for the family at the age of 16. She developed a strong bond with the family and became a favorite subject for Renoir, appearing in several of his most important works, including his 1911 Gabrielle with a Rose (Musée d'Orsay). When Renoir began to suffer from severe rheumatoid arthritis that would eventually leave him unable to walk and scarcely able to grasp a paintbrush, it was Gabrielle that would assist the artist by positioning the paintbrush between his crippled fingers.
Born in Limoges, France in 1841, Renoir began his career as an apprentice to a painter of porcelain wares. He later moved to Paris at the age of 21, enrolling at the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts. It was here, while studying under Charles Gleyre, that Renoir attained a tremendous appreciation for the academic style of painting, a quality that would last throughout his career. This was also when he met Claude Monet and several other classmates, with whom he would later form the Impressionists.
Working closely with Monet, Renoir began experimenting with the portrayal of light and its effect on his canvases. The youngest member of the Impressionist movement, an astute Renoir recognized how a subject was constantly changing due to the dynamic effects of light on color. Relying heavily upon his academic training that focused on composition, lines and descriptive details, Renoir distinguished himself among his contemporaries. His intuitive use of color and expansive brushstroke, along with acute attention to his subject, have placed him among the finest painters in history.
This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the work of Pierre-Auguste Renoir from the Wildenstein Plattner Institute.
Circa 1898
Canvas: 43 1/2" high x 35 1/2" wide
Frame: 57 3/4" high x 49 1/4" wide
Provenance:
Galerie Durand-Ruel, Paris (acquired from the artist on January 25, 1899)
J. Pereire Collection, France (1966)
Sam Salz, New York (before 1981)
Claus Virch, Paris
French Compagny, Inc., New York
Larry Silverstein, New York (circa January 1987)
Le Clos de Sierne Gallery, Geneva
Galerie Heyram, Paris (October 1987)
Francis Gross
M.S. Rau, New Orleans
Literature:
B. Schneider, Renoir, Berlin, 1957, p. 95 (illustrated in color, p. 83)
M. Gauthier, Renoir, Paris, 1958, p. 83 (illustrated in color; erroneously dated '1916' and titled 'Woman in her toilet')
F. Fosca, Renoir, L'homme et son obra, Paris, 1961, p. 280 (illustrated, p. 95; erroneously dated 'about 1890' and titled 'After the Bath')
G.-P. and M. Dauberville, Renoir, Catalog raisonné des tableaux, pastels, dessins et aquarelles, Paris, 2010, vol. III, p. 515-516, no. 2597 (illustrated, p. 515)
Exhibited:
Galerie Durand-Ruel, Paris, Watercolors, Pastels and Drawings by Renoir, April 1921, p. 3, no. 53 (erroneously dated '1906' and titled 'Baigneuse s'essuie').
Kunsthalle, Basel, Meisterzeichnungen französischer Künstler von Ingres bis Cézanne , June-August 1935, p. 30, no. 223.
Galerie des Beaux-Arts, Paris, Exhibition of “La Gazette des Beaux-Arts”, Renoir, The sculpted work, the engraved work, watercolors and drawings, October-November 1935, p. 30, no. 22.
Musée national d'art moderne, Paris, From Impressionism to the present day , June 1958, no. 175 (illustrated, pl. 9).
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1966-1973.
- Creator:Pierre Auguste Renoir (1841 - 1919, French)
- Creation Year:Circa 1898
- Dimensions:Height: 57.75 in (146.69 cm)Width: 49.25 in (125.1 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:New Orleans, LA
- Reference Number:
Pierre Auguste Renoir
Pierre-Auguste Renoir had his first experience with art in 1845 at the age of 4 when his family moved to Paris from Limoges and settled near the Louvre. By the age of 13, he had begun to seriously study and practice his work. Renoir started as an apprentice painter in a porcelain factory, where he spent five years. He then took drawing lessons from Charles Gleyre and in 1862, when he was 21; Renoir attended the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. It was at the National School of Fine Arts in Paris where Renoir met the future founders of Impressionism, Claude Monet, Alfred Sisley, and Frederic Bazille. Renoir paintings remained in the traditional style during the 1860s. His portrait of his mistress, Lise Trehot, was traditional enough to be accepted for the 1867 Salon. Pierre Auguste Renoir’s paintings began to change shortly after he moved in with Claude Monet and Frederic Bazille in 1869. Renoir updated his technique and color scheme. Renoir painted mostly outdoors and began to use vibrant, pure colors and little brush strokes. Renoir, along with Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, and Alfred Sisley was part of the first exhibition of the Society of Independent Artists in 1874. It was at this exhibit that the term “Impressionism” was first used. The term was coined by a French art critic who took the name from a Monet painting. The term was meant to be derogatory and the show was a financial failure. Despite the failure, the artists continue to exhibit together and were joined by Edgar Degas and Georges Seurat. By the early 1880s, the public had begun to recognize the importance of the Impressionists’ work. In the early 1880s, Renoir traveled and painted extensively. He held his first one-man exhibition in 1883 in Paris. He received commissions from prominent Parisians and painted numerous group portraits of his friends, writers, and fellow artists. By 1887, Renoir was famous and donated several paintings to Queen Victoria for her Golden Jubilee. By the time he was 50, Renoir’s health began to decline. He suffered from cataracts, rheumatoid arthritis, and ankyloses, and spent the last twenty years of his life confined to a wheelchair. During this time he continued to paint and even took up sculpting.
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