As one of the most prolific portrait painters among the Impressionists, Renoir dedicated himself with as much attention to commissioned portraits as to those of his relatives and friends. His portraits of women in particular received overwhelming praise from his contemporaries, including Claude Monet, and were admired for their sweet docility and sensual, albeit innocent, allure (see fig. 1). These stylized pictures not only appealed to contemporary tastes but also paid homage to the genre painting of French eighteenth-century artists. The contemporary critic Théodore Duret wrote of the artist's skill as a portrait painter, stating: “Renoir excels at portraits. Not only does he catch the external features, but through them he pinpoints the model’s character and inner self. I doubt whether any painter has ever interpreted women in a more seductive manner. The lively touches of Renoir’s brush are charming, supple and unrestrained, making flesh transparent and tinting the cheeks and lips with a perfect living hue. Renoir’s women are enchantresses” (quoted in Histoire des peintres impressionists, Paris, 1922, pp. 27-28).

In Jeune fille en rose, Renoir's dexterity as an Impressionist portraitist is evident in the deft handling of the loose brushstrokes in the background contrasted with the greater precision applied to the subject’s attire. Renoir's characteristically ethereal handling of atmosphere and shadow produces subtle variations of color. Dominated by a range of bright and modulated tones of greens and blues, this palette underscores Renoir's understanding of the natural variations of light.

While Renoir depicts the sitter’s dress and hat with extraordinary elegance, the young subject is hardly formally clad, and indeed decidedly at ease in her surroundings. Fashion historian Dr. Justine Young points to this as a radical divergence in the art historical canon, explaining that “Especially prevalent among the Impressionist’s subjects were women seen casually lounging, dressed not for the public but resting comfortably at home. Such scenes were pointedly not chic—or not solely so—instead representing relaxed moments of everyday life. The women depicted are observed not by le monde, the fashionable outside the world, but by family and intimate friends. They exist in private, seemingly protected spaces, not posing so much as pausing. The painters of these portraits captured quiet, quotidian moments of contemplation of actual, not ideal, women. The women wear simple, everyday dresses, likely from their own wardrobes and made in consultation with their local dress makers, rather than the more elaborate high fashion seen in public settings… these sitters are most often shown alone and unoccupied. Modeled by family and friends, Impressionist portraits challenge conventions of portraiture, while also experimenting with new pictorial strategies” (Justine de Young, “Fashion and Intimate Portraits,” in Impressionism, Fashion and Modernity (exhibition catalogue), Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, 2013, p. 108).