Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Estate of the artist 
Private Collection, Germany (acquired circa 1950-60)
Private Collection (by descent from the above and sold: Christie's, Paris, March 24, 2015, lot 14)
Acquired at the above sale

Bernheim-Jeune, ed., L'Atelier de Renoir, vol. I, Paris, 1931, no. 693, illustrated pl. 218
Guy Patrice & Michel Dauberville, Renoir, Catalogue raisonné des tableaux, pastels, dessins et aquarelles, vol. V, Paris, 2014, no. 3679A, illustrated p. 53

The canvas is lined and the edges have been reinforced with tape. The edges are slightly buckled toward the upper right and lower right quadrants. The surface is nicely textured. Under UV light, a thick layer of varnish is difficult to read through, no inpainting is apparent. The work is in overall 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.
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A lush bouquet of roses in bloom dominates this gem-like still life from 1919. Renoir started painting still lifes in the 1860s, and they were a subject he returned to throughout his career. In part this was due to the financial security they provided—like his contemporary Monet, he often turned to them in his early years as a means of ensuring sales—but the subject also provided endless opportunity for technical experimentation. His still lifes depict the same energetic brushwork and innate understanding of color that define some of his best portraits and landscapes. In Roses, Renoir achieves a brilliant spontaneity through a combination of free, looser brushstrokes and the relationship of color and light that fill the composition. While discusses one of Renoir's flower paintings, John House observed: "In his later years Renoir painted and sold very many small, informal paintings, among them large numbers of still lifes, showing everyday objects and especially flowers, often very casually arranged... Renoir recommended still-life painting to Julie Manet in the late 1890s in order to 'teach yourself to paint quickly,' and told Albert André that it was in his small sketches that 'he put the whole of himself, that he took every risk...' Renoir also saw studies like this as contributions to his more ambitious figure paintings. He told Vollard that his sketches of roses were 'research into flesh tones...for a nude'. According to another witness, he saw closer parallels between flowers and women's bodies, comparing anemones with women's sexes. However, his fascination with flowers in his last years can perhaps best be seen as part of his determination to focus on sumptuous colored surfaces and to choose subjects without disturbing overtones" (John House, Renoir, Master Impressionist (exhibition catalogue), Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne & The Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 1994-95, p. 94).