Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Estate of the artist
Samuel Siegbert Stern, Berlin
Mr. & Mrs. James Vigeveno, Los Angeles (by descent from the above)
Henry Pearlman, New York
Alastair Roger, London
Alex Reid & Lefevre, Ltd., London
Acquired from the above in 1965

Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Museum of Art & San Francisco, San Francisco Museum of Art, Pierre Auguste Renoir, 1841-1919: Paintings, Drawings, Prints, and Sculpture, 1955, no. 56, illustrated in the catalogue
New York, Hammer Galleries, Renoir, 1959, no. 19, illustrated in the catalogue
London, Lefevre Gallery, XIX and XX Century French Paintings, 1960, no. 29, illustrated in the catalogue
London, Lefevre Gallery, XIX and XX Century French Paintings, Drawings and Bronzes, 1962, no. 18, illustrated in the catalogue
Munich, Haus der Kunst, French Paintings of the XIX Century, David to Cézanne, 1964-65, no. 221, illustrated in the catalogue

Bernheim-Jeune, ed., L'Atelier de Renoir, vol. I, Paris, 1931, no. 160, illustrated pl. 53
Guy-Patrice & Michel Dauberville, Renoir, Catalogue raisonné des tableaux, pastels, dessins et aquarelles, 1895-1902, vol. III, Paris, 2010, no. 1907, illustrated p. 128

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La Rochelle, a port located on the Western coast of France, has been an important center for fishing and trade since the 12th century. It was also an attractive destination for many French writers and intellectuals, including Voltaire and Rabelais. In the present work, Renoir depicts two of the three medieval towers that guard the entrance to the harbor, along with several ships and tradesmen. The artist traveled extensively during the mid-1890s and this beautiful, culturally rich seaside town certainly attracted his eye.

The influence of Claude Lorraine is particularly evident in Renoir’s La Rochelle, both in terms of subject matter and atmosphere. Lorraine’s bright depictions of bustling seaports with fishing vessels and merchants provided a foundation for Renoir’s own portrayal of this harbor scene. Although differing in an approach to paint handling, Renoir continues a long history of seeking beauty in the landscape: “A faithful priest of the art which is immortal because it is the earthly reflection of eternal divine beauty" (Nicholas Wadley, Renoir: A Retrospective, New York, 1987, p. 277).