item details
Overview
One of the greatest masters of French Impressionism who remains best-known for his paintings, Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) created slightly over fifty original etchings or lithographs during his lifetime. His first original graphic work of art was created in 1890 and, during the following ten years, he was encouraged to produce more etchings and lithographs by his friends such as the etcher Roux-Champion and the publisher Ambroise Vollard. The themes of Renoir's prints are very much akin to those of his paintings; scenes of people he admired, children, bathers, nudes (as here), all examined in the ever-changing light of the moment.
This lithograph was published by Vollard in 1919, the year of the artist's death, as one of the 12 or Douze lithographies originales de Pierre Auguste Renoir, although it dates from 1904. It depicts a young nude woman - the hallmark of Renoir, especially late career, evidently examining a grapevine on the left. Rapidly executed in a few strokes of the crayon, Renoir conveys the softness of the flesh and the idyllic nature of the scene. Although it is an avowedly minor work, traditional Renoir admirers consider it a 'subtle example' of his 'mastery of the female form'.
See: Busacca Gallery, http://www.busaccagallery.com/catalog.php?catid=117&itemid=4023#\
Dr Mark Stocker Curator, Historical International Art May 2018