Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Josse Hessel, Paris
Colonel Balsan, Paris
Madame Jacques Balsan (née Conseulo Vanderbilt), Paris (by descent from the above)
Wildenstein & Co., Paris
François Rechenbach, Paris
Wildenstein & Co., New York
Jack I. & Lillian L. Poses, New York (acquired from the above circa 1950)
Thence by descent

François Daulte, Auguste Renoir, Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint, vol. I, Lausanne, 1971, no. 539, illustrated n.p. 
Guy-Patrice & Michel Dauberville, Renoir, Catalogue raisonné des tableaux, pastels, dessins et aquarelles, vol. II, Paris, 2009, no. 1123, illustrated p. 278

Canvas is lightly lined and the edges are reinforced with tape. A rich and textured impasto is well preserved, particularly in the sitters clothing and the cushion on which she reclines. Under UV light faint strokes of old retouching are visible around the extreme perimeter of the work, otherwise fine. This works is in generally very good condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

A celebration of the female form and dazzling color, Jeune fille assise sur un sofa is one of Renoir’s finest and most graceful depictions of youth, and it serves as an ode to his skills as a colorist. Renowned for his portraits—a central concern in the first few decades of Renoir’s career—the artist relentlessly turned to this genre as a means to convey weightless color and imbued his subjects with an aura of tranquility. In addition to the numerous portraits that he produced as part of paid commissions, including those of his contemporaries Sisley and Monet, Renoir also painted unidentified women throughout the 1870s and 1880s. Often elegant young women at leisure, the artist could freely interpret the sitter and her surroundings without such concern for capturing physical likeness and character. 

Here the young girl is depicted in an informal pose, lying down on a sofa with plush, sumptuously decorated pillows, her head resting on her hand as if daydreaming. Captured in semi-profile, and seemingly unaware of the painter’s presence, the young girl is depicted as a modern-day Venus, thereby echoing the art of many of Renoir’s favorite Old Master painters such as Rubens and Velzaquez, and she is imbued with a fresh and sensual femininity and a coquettish air of innocence. In the present portrait, Renoir gently blends the sitter’s fashionable attire through the use of sparkling color and pattern, exploring one of the prime Impressionist effects of reflecting light on the human form.

Focusing on this genre, Théodore Duret wrote in the introduction to his 1883 exhibition catalogue: "[In Renoir] we recognise at first sight the ability to paint woman in all her grace and delicacy, which has led him to excel particularly in portraits. The artist has fully displayed this gift of charm from the beginning, and it is in his ability as a painter and colourist that we must observe his progress and development" (quoted in Barbara E. White, Renoir. His Life, Art, and Letters, New York, 1984, p. 132).

One of the first owners of this picture was Madame Jacques Balsan, Née Consuelo Vanderbilt, formerly the Duchess of Marlborough. She found happiness as the wife of Colonel Jacques Balsan (whose brother had a love-affair with Coco Chanel) and must have been enthralled by the opulent delicacy of this picture, combining as it does both gentle tones and brilliant color in a jewel-like depiction of bourgeois contentment.