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

THE CIRCLE OR STUDIO OF PIERRE AUGUSTE RENOIR (1841–1919) Probably the original farmhouse of the Domaine des Collettes in Cagnes-sur-Mer Sketch, oil on canvas mounted on cardboard. This loose sketch depicts a rural landscape bathed in the light of the Midi. In the foreground, a vibrant stroke of yellow evokes a field of broom or wild grasses illuminated by the sun. Two olive trees with gnarled trunks and silvery foliage frame the composition. In the background, half-hidden by the vegetation, stands a Provençal house with an ochre-tiled roof, set against the backdrop of the bluish hills typical of Cagnes. The brushwork is fluid and swift, emphasizing the play of transparency characteristic of plein air studies. Dimensions: 27 x 36 cm When Pierre-Auguste Renoir purchased the Colettes estate in 1907 to save it from the felling of its century-old olive trees, the property included an old traditional Provençal farmhouse, before he had his large, white-stone bourgeois house built there. This old farmhouse was, in fact, one of his favorite subjects during his later period.