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PIERRE-AUGUSTE RENOIR | Deux femmes
Estimate
150,000 - 250,000 USD
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Description
- Pierre-Auguste Renoir
- Deux femmes
- Signed Renoir (upper right)
- Oil on canvas
- 9 1/2 by 7 1/2 in.
- 24.2 by 19.1 cm
- Painted circa 1903.
Provenance
Estate of the artist
Sale: Drouot-Montaigne, Paris, November 24, 1988, lot 41
Sale: Christie's, London, April 2, 1990, lot 25
Acquired at the above sale
Sale: Drouot-Montaigne, Paris, November 24, 1988, lot 41
Sale: Christie's, London, April 2, 1990, lot 25
Acquired at the above sale
Literature
Bernheim-Jeune, ed., L'Atelier de Renoir, vol. I, Paris, 1931, no. 272, illustrated pl. 84
Guy-Patrice & Michel Dauberville, Renoir, Catalogue raisonné des tableaux, pastels, dessins et aquarelles, vol. IV, Paris, 2012, no. 3140, illustrated p. 270
Guy-Patrice & Michel Dauberville, Renoir, Catalogue raisonné des tableaux, pastels, dessins et aquarelles, vol. IV, Paris, 2012, no. 3140, illustrated p. 270
Condition
The canvas is not lined. There are some minor losses around the extreme edges, likely due to frame abrasion. Under UV light: no inpainting is apparent. This 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.
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.
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.
Catalogue Note
Deux femmes brings to light Renoir’s new and liberated style which increasingly blurred the boundaries between portraiture and depictions of social settings. A contemporary critic wrote that “Renoir’s beautifully smooth curves are not spread out in measureable depth, but roll on top of one another, balanced and superimposed like luminous globes” (quoted in Claudia Einecke & Roger Benjamin, Renoir in the 20th Century (exhibition catalogue), Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, 2010, p. 136). Focusing less on a precise rendering of the sitters' features within the present work, Renoir concentrates instead on capturing a mood, an ephemeral ambiance. By using warm pink and red tones and soft sweeping brushstrokes, he draws the viewer into the warm and intimate environment of the loge. The theme of the theater box allowed Renoir to explore the world of Parisian entertainments and to celebrate modern social settings. The theater glorified the world of appearances, social position and aspirations, enabling the viewer to enter a mysterious space where figures personify the theater's ambiguous mood.
As the artist once stated: “Granted our craft is difficult, complicated; I understand the soul-searchings. But all the same, a little simplicity, a little candour, is necessary. As for me I just struggle with my figures until they are a harmonious unity with their landscape background, and I want people to feel that neither the setting nor the figures are dull and lifeless" (quoted in Auguste Renoir & Rachel Barnes, Renoir by Renoir, Virginia, 1990, p. 50).
This work is accompanied by an Attestation of Inclusion from the Wildenstein Institute, and it will be included in the forthcoming Renoir Digital Catalogue Raisonné, currently being prepared under the sponsorship of the Wildenstein Plattner Institute, Inc.
As the artist once stated: “Granted our craft is difficult, complicated; I understand the soul-searchings. But all the same, a little simplicity, a little candour, is necessary. As for me I just struggle with my figures until they are a harmonious unity with their landscape background, and I want people to feel that neither the setting nor the figures are dull and lifeless" (quoted in Auguste Renoir & Rachel Barnes, Renoir by Renoir, Virginia, 1990, p. 50).
This work is accompanied by an Attestation of Inclusion from the Wildenstein Institute, and it will be included in the forthcoming Renoir Digital Catalogue Raisonné, currently being prepared under the sponsorship of the Wildenstein Plattner Institute, Inc.