Femme assise au bord de la mer (1883)

Renoir, Pierre-Auguste (1841-1919)

Femme assise au bord de la mer (By the Seashore)
1883
Oil on canvas, 92.1 x 72.4 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Renoir likely painted this work in his studio, posing his model in a wicker chair and relying on studies he had made on the Normandy coast to furnish the beach scene behind her. Stylistically, it reflects the impact of Renoir’s trip to Italy in 188182, which inspired him to unite the “grandeur and simplicity” he admired in Renaissance art with the luminosity of Impressionism. His new approach, which he called his “dry” manner, is evident in the sitter’s face, with its carefully drawn features and smooth handling of paint. The medley of quick strokes in the background, however, displays the freer technique of Renoir’s earlier years. (MET)

See also:

• Charigot, Aline (1859-1915)