241 - THE CIRCLE OR STUDIO OF PIERRE AUGUSTE RENOIR (1841–1919)

THE CIRCLE OR STUDIO OF PIERRE AUGUSTE RENOIR (1841–1919) The Terrace with Olive Trees, Agave, and a View of the Cagnes Valley Sketch, oil on canvas mounted on cardboard. This superb plein air study immerses us in the very intimacy of the artist’s daily life at the estate, facing the panorama of the Côte d’Azur. It employs an original “window-like” composition, framed at the top by the canopy of a large tree and on the left by its powerful, twisted trunk. In the foreground, the property’s layout is revealed through a small wooden or rattan lattice fence, flanked by a large agave with fleshy, bluish leaves—an exotic plant emblematic of the Riviera. On the right, a garden chair blends discreetly into the shade of the undergrowth. Beyond this terrace, the view plunges down into the Cagnes Valley, bathed in blazing sunlight, rendered in a vibrant monochrome palette of terracotta, orange, and ochre tones that fade toward the hills of the hinterland. The painting combines broad, fluid swaths of color for the atmospheric distance with smaller, more energetic brushstrokes for the foreground vegetation. Condition: Unsigned study; clean studio pin holes in the upper corners; normal wear and tear along the edges of the board. Creases. Dimensions: 26 x 37.5 cm