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Lot Essay
The present work portrays the young actress Vera Sergine Renoir, wife of the artist's eldest son, Pierre who, by 1914 had been conscripted into the army and was in action in the First World War.
Radiant and imposing, Renoir's portrait of his daughter-in-law follows the tenets described by Théodore Duret: "Renoir excels at portraits. Not only does he catch the external features, but through them he pinpoints the model's character and inner self. I doubt whether any painter has ever interpreted woman in a more seductive manner. The deft and lively touches of Renoir's brush are charming, supple and unrestrained, making flesh transparent and tinting the cheeks and lips with a perfect living hue. Renoir's women are enchantresses..." (B. E. White, Renoir: His Life, Art and Letters, New York, 1984, p. 84).
The present work originally passed to Pierre and Vera's son Claude before being sold by the O'Hana Gallery in London.
The authenticity of this work was confirmed by Franois Daulte who planned to include it in vol. III of his Renoir Catalogue raisonné, Figures 1906-1919.
Radiant and imposing, Renoir's portrait of his daughter-in-law follows the tenets described by Théodore Duret: "Renoir excels at portraits. Not only does he catch the external features, but through them he pinpoints the model's character and inner self. I doubt whether any painter has ever interpreted woman in a more seductive manner. The deft and lively touches of Renoir's brush are charming, supple and unrestrained, making flesh transparent and tinting the cheeks and lips with a perfect living hue. Renoir's women are enchantresses..." (B. E. White, Renoir: His Life, Art and Letters, New York, 1984, p. 84).
The present work originally passed to Pierre and Vera's son Claude before being sold by the O'Hana Gallery in London.
The authenticity of this work was confirmed by Franois Daulte who planned to include it in vol. III of his Renoir Catalogue raisonné, Figures 1906-1919.