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Lot Essay
The church of La Trinité in Paris' fashionable 9th arondissement was a setting which Renoir knew well. He first painted the square in 1875, he would return to paint it twice in 1892 and then again, for the present picture, in 1893.
La Place de la Trinité reflects the significant changes that had recently taken place in his life. A successful retrospective exhibition organised by his dealer, Paul Durand-Ruel, the year before had been followed by the French State's first purchase of a work, both of which went toward ensuring his future security as an artist. More importantly perhaps, the artist had also emerged from his so-called ingresque phase--a phase of uncertainty following the Impressionist years. By the early 1890s, however, he was much more buoyant, having come to develop what he considered to be his true style. Renoir wrote, "I have lost much time in looking for a style which will give me satisfaction. I think I have found it now" (undated letter to Durand-Ruel).
La Place de la Trinité, as with one of the views of the previous year (fig. 1) depicts the square with the church to the left as seen from the rue Morlot. In the present picture we see a confident return to the cityscape motifs of the 1870s and early 1880s (fig. 2) with a renewed interest in the traditional qualities of French art.
The strength of the composition is one of the present work's most striking characteristics. Achieved by partly obscuring the church façade and abruptly cropping the steeple, Renoir produced a surface of interlocking forms. The rooftops and chimney stacks to the right give a modern spatial thrust not seen in the earlier versions.
The palette, too, has changed. Gone are the rainbow colors applied in striking contrasts, instead replaced by a softer, more harmonious range. As hi son Jean recorded, Renoir was now using only eight to ten colors, which were "ranged in neat little mounds around the edge of his scrupulously clean palette".
Renoir had always been a traditionalist in his approach to his art, despite what may be seen as the radical approach he and the other impressionists had adopted two decades before. But here the two aspects of composition and palette combine to affirm his commitment to following the great masters of the past, and why this new approach suited his own concerns so well.
Renoir's style of the early 1890s was increasingly concerned with leaving a lasting impression in the tradition of art history. This new outlook, however, proved of some concern to Durand-Ruel who naturally feared for the carefully constructed network of buyers whom he had painstakingly convinced to invest in the work of the new Impressionists. Renoir would soon come to convince Durand-Ruel of the importance of this new style and it would be Durand-Ruel who acquired Place de la Trinité on 5 December 1893.
The relationship between Renoir and Durand-Ruel was crucial to the survival of both men during the harsh and challenging years they worked together. As Renoir's first and principal financial backer, Durand-Ruel provided the artist not only with economic support, but also with the confidence to advance his work in new directions. Renoir's gratitude for his friend's support was evident when, the year after Place de la Trinité was painted, Durand-Ruel's banker, Feder, went bankrupt, leaving the dealer in financial crisis. Renoir was prepared to go to any lengths to support him, as he wrote in 1894, "If you need me, I beg you to consider me as completely yours, and whatever happens, I shall always be devoted to you. As for the paintings, if you are forced to make sacrifices, do not regret it as I will make you others, and better ones".
(fig. 1) Pierre-Auguste Renoir, L'eglise de la trinité, 1892-1893.
Hiroshima Museum of Art. (0718 7988)
(fig. 2) Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Les grands boulevards, 1875. Philadelphia Museum of Art (The Henry P. McIlhenny collection in memory of Francis P. McIlhenny). (0718 7995)
La Place de la Trinité reflects the significant changes that had recently taken place in his life. A successful retrospective exhibition organised by his dealer, Paul Durand-Ruel, the year before had been followed by the French State's first purchase of a work, both of which went toward ensuring his future security as an artist. More importantly perhaps, the artist had also emerged from his so-called ingresque phase--a phase of uncertainty following the Impressionist years. By the early 1890s, however, he was much more buoyant, having come to develop what he considered to be his true style. Renoir wrote, "I have lost much time in looking for a style which will give me satisfaction. I think I have found it now" (undated letter to Durand-Ruel).
La Place de la Trinité, as with one of the views of the previous year (fig. 1) depicts the square with the church to the left as seen from the rue Morlot. In the present picture we see a confident return to the cityscape motifs of the 1870s and early 1880s (fig. 2) with a renewed interest in the traditional qualities of French art.
The strength of the composition is one of the present work's most striking characteristics. Achieved by partly obscuring the church façade and abruptly cropping the steeple, Renoir produced a surface of interlocking forms. The rooftops and chimney stacks to the right give a modern spatial thrust not seen in the earlier versions.
The palette, too, has changed. Gone are the rainbow colors applied in striking contrasts, instead replaced by a softer, more harmonious range. As hi son Jean recorded, Renoir was now using only eight to ten colors, which were "ranged in neat little mounds around the edge of his scrupulously clean palette".
Renoir had always been a traditionalist in his approach to his art, despite what may be seen as the radical approach he and the other impressionists had adopted two decades before. But here the two aspects of composition and palette combine to affirm his commitment to following the great masters of the past, and why this new approach suited his own concerns so well.
Renoir's style of the early 1890s was increasingly concerned with leaving a lasting impression in the tradition of art history. This new outlook, however, proved of some concern to Durand-Ruel who naturally feared for the carefully constructed network of buyers whom he had painstakingly convinced to invest in the work of the new Impressionists. Renoir would soon come to convince Durand-Ruel of the importance of this new style and it would be Durand-Ruel who acquired Place de la Trinité on 5 December 1893.
The relationship between Renoir and Durand-Ruel was crucial to the survival of both men during the harsh and challenging years they worked together. As Renoir's first and principal financial backer, Durand-Ruel provided the artist not only with economic support, but also with the confidence to advance his work in new directions. Renoir's gratitude for his friend's support was evident when, the year after Place de la Trinité was painted, Durand-Ruel's banker, Feder, went bankrupt, leaving the dealer in financial crisis. Renoir was prepared to go to any lengths to support him, as he wrote in 1894, "If you need me, I beg you to consider me as completely yours, and whatever happens, I shall always be devoted to you. As for the paintings, if you are forced to make sacrifices, do not regret it as I will make you others, and better ones".
(fig. 1) Pierre-Auguste Renoir, L'eglise de la trinité, 1892-1893.
Hiroshima Museum of Art. (0718 7988)
(fig. 2) Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Les grands boulevards, 1875. Philadelphia Museum of Art (The Henry P. McIlhenny collection in memory of Francis P. McIlhenny). (0718 7995)