Pierre-Auguste Renoir, French, 1841-1919
Title: Young Woman in White Reading
Date: 1873
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
35 x 27 cm
Signed: lower right: A Renoir 73
Credit Line: Purchased, 2007
Object Number: NGI.2007.74
DescriptionRenoir began his career as a decorative artist, painting designs on porcelain and fabric. He proceeded to train at the École des Beaux-Arts and then at the studio of Charles Gleyre, where he became friends with Frédéric Bazille, Claude Monet and Alfred Sisley. Following the rejection of several of his works by the Salon, Renoir joined Monet and Sisley in exhibiting at the Impressionist exhibitions.
In the summer of 1873 Renoir visited Monet at Argenteuil where he painted the artist and his family. The figure in this informal domestic scene may have been modelled upon Monet’s wife, Camille, whom Renoir painted as she read on several occasions. Executed at a turning point in his career, this small modern-life study blurs the boundaries between portraiture and genre painting. It draws upon a number of important artistic influences. The brushwork and thinly applied paint give the picture a sketchy appearance, reflecting Renoir’s close association with Monet at this time. The monochrome tones may relate to his interest in the work of Edouard Manet and artists of the Spanish Golden Age. The flattening of space and incorporation of chequered patterning demonstrate his interest in Ukiyo-e prints by Japanese artists such as Utamaro Kitagawa.
March 2016
In the summer of 1873 Renoir visited Monet at Argenteuil where he painted the artist and his family. The figure in this informal domestic scene may have been modelled upon Monet’s wife, Camille, whom Renoir painted as she read on several occasions. Executed at a turning point in his career, this small modern-life study blurs the boundaries between portraiture and genre painting. It draws upon a number of important artistic influences. The brushwork and thinly applied paint give the picture a sketchy appearance, reflecting Renoir’s close association with Monet at this time. The monochrome tones may relate to his interest in the work of Edouard Manet and artists of the Spanish Golden Age. The flattening of space and incorporation of chequered patterning demonstrate his interest in Ukiyo-e prints by Japanese artists such as Utamaro Kitagawa.
March 2016
ProvenanceRoux de Billencourt, France; Hotel Drouot, Paris, 25 November 1898, lot 56; purchased by Durand-Ruel, Paris; purchased by M. Furstenberg, Paris, 25 Aril 1914; Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Paris; Wildenstein & Co., Paris and New York; purchased by Sam Salz, New York, 1950; Private Collection, New York; François Daulte, Paris; purchased for Private Collection, 8 June 1989; purchased at Sotheby's, New York, 8 November 2007, Impressionist & Modern Art Sale, lot 210
Exhibition HistoryExposition d'Art Musulan, Munich, 1910
Exposition de la Société Artistique de Roubaix-Tourcoing, Roubaix, 1910
International Society of Sculptors, Painters, Engravers, London, 1912
Exhibition of the Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt, 1912
French Portraits of the 19th Century, Wildenstein & Co., New York, 1948
Impressionist Interiors, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 10 May - 10 August 2008
Renoir: Between Bohemia and Bourgeoisie, The Early Years, Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel, 2012
Shades of Grey: Painting without Colour, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 22 June - 29 September 2013
Von Poussin bis Monet. Die Farben Frankreichs, The Arp Museum Bahnhof Rolandseck, Remagen, 22 March - 6 September 2015; Bucerius Kunst Forum, Hamburg, 10 October 2015 - 17 January 2016
Renoir's Caress: Tactile Sense and Intimacy, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, 18 October 2016 - 22 January 2017
Exposition de la Société Artistique de Roubaix-Tourcoing, Roubaix, 1910
International Society of Sculptors, Painters, Engravers, London, 1912
Exhibition of the Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt, 1912
French Portraits of the 19th Century, Wildenstein & Co., New York, 1948
Impressionist Interiors, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 10 May - 10 August 2008
Renoir: Between Bohemia and Bourgeoisie, The Early Years, Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel, 2012
Shades of Grey: Painting without Colour, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 22 June - 29 September 2013
Von Poussin bis Monet. Die Farben Frankreichs, The Arp Museum Bahnhof Rolandseck, Remagen, 22 March - 6 September 2015; Bucerius Kunst Forum, Hamburg, 10 October 2015 - 17 January 2016
Renoir's Caress: Tactile Sense and Intimacy, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, 18 October 2016 - 22 January 2017
Label TextImpressionist artists, like Renoir, broke Academic conventions by depicting modern men and women engaging in everyday activities and leisurely pursuits. During the summer of 1873, Renoir visited Claude Monet at Argenteuil, where he painted the artist and his family. The model for this picture may have been Monet’s wife Camille, whom Renoir portrayed reading on several occasions. The loose brushwork and thinly applied paint give the picture a sketchy appearance and reflect the artist’s close association with Monet at this time.