Renoir, Pierre-Auguste (1841-1919)
La tasse de chocolat (Cup of Chocolate)
c.1914
Oil on canvas, 58.3 x 49.4 cm
Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia
Depicted at a café table in a moment of quiet reverie, Renoir‘s model invites us to pause and imagine the swirls of chocolate and the gentle clanging of the spoon. The artist’s training as porcelain painter shines through in the decorative flourishes on the cups. King Louis XVI popularized drinking chocolate at the court of Versailles, and in 1732, the first chocolate factory opened in Paris. Once reserved as a treat for the elite, chocolate became available to the masses in the 19th century because of improved labor conditions, mechanical advancements, and more efficient production methods. (Barnes)
Compare:
Renoir, Auguste (1841-1919)
La tasse de chocolat
1877–1878
Louvre, Abu Dhabi
Renoir, Auguste (1841-1919)
Femme prenant du chocolat
c.1912
Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia