542 - Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841, Limoges – Cagnes-sur-Mer, 1919)

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841, Limoges – Cagnes-sur-Mer, 1919) Portrait of Edmond Renoir, Jr. Oil on canvas. (1888). Approx. 41.5 x 32.5 cm. Signed lower left. On the reverse of the canvas and on the frame, respectively, is a round, blue stamp from the French customs authority, with the partially legible inscription “DOUANES FRANÇAISES PARIS ...”. Dauberville II 1271; Daulte I 532 (with incorrect dimensions). Accompanied by a certificate from the Wildenstein Institute dated September 4, 2001 (copy). • From the former collection of the Belgian collector, journalist, and perfume manufacturer René Gaffé (1887 Brussels – Cagnes-sur-Mer 1968) • The subject, Edmond Renoir Jr., is the painter’s nephew (the son of his younger brother, the journalist Edmond-Victor Renoir) • A slightly modified, smaller version of the painting is part of the Harvard Art Museum’s collection Pierre-Auguste Renoir is considered one of the most important representatives of Impressionism. Unlike many of his Impressionist contemporaries, who devoted themselves primarily to landscape painting, he placed people at the center of his work. Women and children, in particular, were among his favorite subjects. His interest lies not only in the individual appearance of his subjects but, above all, in the painterly possibilities offered by the human face. The rendering of the flesh tones, the play of light on the skin, and the lively treatment of hair and fabric become essential elements of his portraits. In 1878, the art critic Théodore Duret highlighted this special talent: “Renoir’s skillful and lively brushstrokes are enchantingly light, supple, and unforced. They lend the flesh tones an almost translucent delicacy and give the cheeks a perfectly natural, lifelike hue.” (After B. E. White, *Renoir, His Life, Art, and Letters*, New York 1984, p. 277). Just how apt Duret’s observation is is also evident in this Portrait of Edmond Renoir, Jr. The subject is the son of Edmond-Victor Renoir, the artist’s brother who was seven years his junior. In 1887–88, Renoir painted his nephew on several occasions. The familiarity between painter and model is evident in this portrait as well. Without any pretensions to grandeur or narrative embellishments, Renoir focuses entirely on the child and his immediate presence. In its composition, the painting is reminiscent of Renoir’s portraits from the 1870s, in which the models often appear in three-quarter or full profile. Unlike in many of these earlier works, however, the artist chooses a tighter frame here. The child’s face takes center stage, while the background remains largely undefined. The omission of spatial details directs the viewer’s gaze directly to the subject and lends the portrait a special sense of intimacy and tranquility. The long curls reflect the children’s fashion of the time. Renoir himself appreciated this hairstyle. His sons, too, wore their hair long. For the painter, it evidently held a special artistic appeal: the soft, flowing strands of hair allowed him to fully display his mastery in rendering light, color, and texture. The documented provenance of the painting provides insight into its esteem in the 20th-century art market. In a letter dated June 9, 1939, the New York art dealer Sam Salz quoted a price of 200,000 French francs to the Belgian collector René Gaffé. Two further letters, dated December 20, 1954, and January 13, 1955, indicate that Salz later sought to repurchase the painting from Gaffé. Bibliography: Gaffé, R., *Introduction à la peinture française*, Brussels 1954, p. 103, with ill. (titled there: *Portrait de son neveu*, with incorrect dimensions of 41 × 33 cm, erroneously dated 1884); Gaffé, R., *A la verticale: Réflexions d’un collectionneur*, Brussels 1963, p. 17, with ill. (titled there: *L’enfant blond*, incorrectly dated 1884). Exhibition: Renoir, portraitiste, Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Paris 1938, cat. no. 23 (titled there: Portrait du neveu de Renoir, incorrectly dated c. 1880), with the gallery label on the reverse of the frame; Panorama: A New Perspective, Sotheby’s, Hong Kong 2018; The Nahmad Collection. From Monet to Picasso, Musée des impressionismes, Giverny 2015, cat. no. 30. Provenance: Edmond Renoir, Paris; Paul Rosenberg and Co., New York; Sam Salz Inc., New York; René Gaffé, acquired from the above in 1939; Christie’s, New York, November 6, 2001, Lot 24; The Nahmad Collection; Private international collection. Taxation: subject to regular taxation (VAT: Regular Taxation).