Lot Essay
The year 1877 saw Renoir devote a considerable amount of time to organising the Third Impressionist Exhibition. Desperate for financial success he exhibited Au Moulin de la Galette, his highly acclaimed painting of the dance hall at the top of the Butte Montmartre, and a large number of portraits. It was at this stage in his career that Renoir began to try to win acceptance in the official Salon by making a name for himself as a portraitist.
The composition of La Jeune Femme debout relevant sa Jupe can be compared to an earlier portrait entitled La Parisienne, which also sets a full-length female figure against an undefined background, lit from the front. The brushwork here though is more dashing giving the impression of an informal study rather than a posed portrait. The visible brushstrokes which suggest a free and spontaneous execution represent the purest Impressionist techniques, nonetheless Renoir takes care to note down small details of the model's fashionable dress: her choker set against the frill of her white collar, and her small black bonnet. Her black dress highlights her pale, round face, framed by dark straggling locks. Her posture and the sweeping strokes around her figure add a sense of movement to the piece. The model for this work could possibly have been Marguerite Legrand, known as Margot, who posed for many of the artist's compositions at this time, including La Tasse de Chocolat (Daulte 272).
It is possible to see how this kind of figure study led Renoir into the realms of portraiture. About half of the figure paintings of 1878-80 are portraits, and more than half of these were commissioned. Although the subject of Jeune Femme debout relevant sa Jupe was a model rather than a client, it might be constructive to compare it to a formal portrait of these years such as that of Madame Charpentier and her children, since this illustrates how in portraiture, as in all his figure painting, Renoir strove to create a natural, relaxed effect. Edmond Henri Turquet wrote: "He will ask his model to maintain her customary manner, to sit the way she sits, to dress the way she dresses, so that nothing smacks of discomfort and preparation. This is why, in addition to artistic value, his work has all the sui generis charm of a painting faithful to modern life." (B. Erlich White, Renoir, his Life, Art and Letters, New York, 1984, p. 84).
In spite of Renoir's reluctance to exhibit at Impressionist group shows after 1877 he was still regarded as one of their leaders by Duret when he published his pamphlet, Les Peintres Impressionistes, in May 1878. "Renoir excells in portraits," he wrote, "Not only does he capture the exterior features he establishes the model's character and inner way of being...Renoir's fast, light brush produces grace, suppleness and abandon."
The composition of La Jeune Femme debout relevant sa Jupe can be compared to an earlier portrait entitled La Parisienne, which also sets a full-length female figure against an undefined background, lit from the front. The brushwork here though is more dashing giving the impression of an informal study rather than a posed portrait. The visible brushstrokes which suggest a free and spontaneous execution represent the purest Impressionist techniques, nonetheless Renoir takes care to note down small details of the model's fashionable dress: her choker set against the frill of her white collar, and her small black bonnet. Her black dress highlights her pale, round face, framed by dark straggling locks. Her posture and the sweeping strokes around her figure add a sense of movement to the piece. The model for this work could possibly have been Marguerite Legrand, known as Margot, who posed for many of the artist's compositions at this time, including La Tasse de Chocolat (Daulte 272).
It is possible to see how this kind of figure study led Renoir into the realms of portraiture. About half of the figure paintings of 1878-80 are portraits, and more than half of these were commissioned. Although the subject of Jeune Femme debout relevant sa Jupe was a model rather than a client, it might be constructive to compare it to a formal portrait of these years such as that of Madame Charpentier and her children, since this illustrates how in portraiture, as in all his figure painting, Renoir strove to create a natural, relaxed effect. Edmond Henri Turquet wrote: "He will ask his model to maintain her customary manner, to sit the way she sits, to dress the way she dresses, so that nothing smacks of discomfort and preparation. This is why, in addition to artistic value, his work has all the sui generis charm of a painting faithful to modern life." (B. Erlich White, Renoir, his Life, Art and Letters, New York, 1984, p. 84).
In spite of Renoir's reluctance to exhibit at Impressionist group shows after 1877 he was still regarded as one of their leaders by Duret when he published his pamphlet, Les Peintres Impressionistes, in May 1878. "Renoir excells in portraits," he wrote, "Not only does he capture the exterior features he establishes the model's character and inner way of being...Renoir's fast, light brush produces grace, suppleness and abandon."