Renoir, Pierre-Auguste (1841-1919)
La Laveuse (Washerwoman)
1917
Bronze, 122.6 x 54.6 x 127 cm
Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo
Though he had first experimented with sculpture in 1907–08, Pierre-Auguste Renoir returned to it more seriously in 1913 at the urging of his dealer. However, by this time he was severely afflicted with rheumatoid arthritis and was unable to model the figures himself. Instead, he worked with the young Spanish sculptor Richard Guino (1890–1973) who translated Renoir’s ideas into three-dimensional form under the careful supervision of the artist. Renoir conceived Washerwoman as one of a pair of figures. The other, never completed, would have been a blacksmith. The figures were to represent the elements Water and Fire. (TMA)