Nude

c. 1895

Auguste Renoir

Associated Names
Auguste Renoir

Artist, French, 1841 - 1919

This painting portrays a woman seen from the upper thighs up. Her body is slightly turned to the right with her head facing the left, and her left arm is extending outward, holding an indistinct pale shape. She has pale skin and brown hair tied behind her head. Her facial features are captured loosely, with round cheeks and red lips turned up at the corners. She is nude, and her body is painted in textured, fluid brushstrokes. The background is a mix of red, green, brown, yellow, and tan, painted with visible brushstrokes, giving the painting a sense of movement.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer

  • Dimensions

    overall: 84.3 x 67.1 cm (33 3/16 x 26 7/16 in.)
    framed: 104.1 x 88 x 7.6 cm (41 x 34 5/8 x 3 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1967.13.1

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

From the artist c. 1895 to Roux de Billancourt, Paris; (Roux de Billancourt sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 25 November 1898, no. 55); purchased by (Durand-Ruel et Cie, Paris);[1] sold 1916 through (Jos Hessel, Paris) to Dikran Khan Kélékian [1868-1951], Paris;[2] (his sale, American Art Association, New York, 30 January 1922, no. 146); purchased by Charles Sheeler [1883-1965].[3] Eugene [1875-1959] and Agnes Ernst Meyer [1887-1970], Mount Kisco, New York, and Washington, D.C.; gift 1967 to NGA.
[1] Durand-Ruel photo in NGA photograph archives, labelled no. 3051; copy in NGA curatorial files.
[2] According to a letter of 31 August 1971 from François Daulte to David Rust, in NGA curatorial files. The letter mentions only "Hessel," but this was probably Jos Hessel, a dealer in Paris.
[3] Annotated sales catalogue in NGA curatorial files.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1921

  • Paintings by Modern French Masters Representing the Post-Impressionists & Their Predecessors, Brooklyn Museum of Art, 1921, no. 195.

1974

  • Loan for display with permanent collection, Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, 1974-1980.

1984

  • Loan for display with permanent collection, Oklahoma Museum of Art, Oklahoma City, 1984-1987.

Bibliography

1920

  • Collection Kélékian: Tableaux de l'Ecole Française Moderne. Paris, New York, Cairo, 1920: plate 63

1975

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 296, repro.

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 341, repro.

Inscriptions

upper right: Renoir.

Wikidata ID

Q20190505

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