Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919)
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Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919)

La coiffure de l'enfant

Details
Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919)
La coiffure de l'enfant
stamped with the signature 'Renoir' (Lugt 2137b; upper left)
oil on canvas
11 7/8 x 11 7/8in. (30.2 x 30.2cm.)
Provenance
Léon Pédron, Le Havre; his sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 2 June 1926, lot 49 (illustrated).
Pincus S. Brenner; sale, Parke-Bernet, New York, 22 November 1944, lot 59 (illustrated).
Special notice
VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price plus buyer's premium

Lot Essay

This painting will be included in the forthcoming Renoir catalogue raisonné from François Daulte being prepared by the Wildenstein Institute.

One of Renoir's favourite subjects throughout his career was the depiction of young girls, often wearing elaborate hats which were highly fashionable at the time. John House has noted: 'Renoir had (as Suzanne Valadon remembered) a particular penchant for woman's hats and often had them especially made for his models' (J. House, 'Renoir's Worlds', Pierre-Auguste Renoir, exh. cat., Hayward Gallery, London, 1985, p. 16).

During the 1890s, Renoir's social life was divided into two distinct parts, reflected in his work form the period. He built up a clientele for portrait commissions, executing some formal society portraits; by contrast, he also painted portraits of anonymous models, through which he sought only to render the charm and youthful appeal of his sitters. Colin Bailey writes: 'When [Renoir] paints a portrait, he asks his model to behave normally, to sit as she usually sits, to dress as she usually dresses, so that nothing smacks of constraint or artificial preparation' (C. Bailey, Renoir's Portraits, London, 1987, p. 20).

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