Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Galerie Durand-Ruel, Paris (acquired from the artist on January 20, 1898)

Durand-Ruel, New York (acquired from the above on July 7, 1922)

Sam Salz, Inc., New York (acquired on November 1, 1942)

Greta Garbo (acquired from the above on November 9, 1942)

The Estate of Greta Garbo (until 1990)

Acquired from the above in 1990

Excellent condition. Original canvas. Under ultra-violet light there is no evidence of inpainting.
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Painted in 1897, Confidence depicts two figures in an interior setting, capturing them in an intimate moment of conversation.  By the time he executed the present work, Renoir was a well established artist, who no longer had a need to paint commissioned portraits, and was able to focus on more intimate depictions of his friends and family members.  The closeness between the man and woman in this composition is accentuated by the close cropping of the scene, focusing on their overlapping heads, and omitting the descriptive details of their surroundings.  The dynamic between the two figures is amplified by the play of light, which comes from the direction of the viewer and reflects off the man's face, and the shadow on the woman's profile.  Colin Bailey wrote about the use of light in Renoir's domestic portraits:  "What distinguishes [his portraits] from those of Renoir's Salon contemporaries is the extraordinary light with which they are imbued, 'the natural light of day penetrating and influencing all things,' which transforms and radicalizes Renoir's figures set in interiors" (Colin B. Bailey, Renoir's Portraits, New Haven, 1997, p. 20).

 

François Daulte identified the male figure as the composer Claude Terrasse (1867-1923), a well-known figure in the artistic circles and the brother-in-law of Pierre Bonnard.  Claude Terrasse was an organist and composer, perhaps best known for his book on solfège that was illustrated by Bonnard, and for the music he composed for the theatre, most notably for a production of Alfred Jarry's Ubu Roi.  His son Charles Terrasse was to become a distinguished art historian, and published numerous studies including an important monograph on Bonnard.  Claude Terrasse, his wife Andrée and their children became Bonnard's closest friends and supporters, and were depicted in a number of his paintings, including the monumental oil L'Après-midi bourgeoise of 1900.  Terrasse was the subject of another portrait by Renoir painted around 1895, showing the sitter with his characteristically rich hair and beard.  As Annette Vaillant has described him: "His red thatch was a mass of curls.  His beard revealed an extraordinarily red mouth, avid for all sorts of pleasures, and behind his pince-nez twinkled two endearing forget-me-not blue eyes" (Annette Vaillant, Bonnard, New York, 1966, p. 48).

Confidence was once in the collection of the great American film actress Greta Garbo, who acquired it from the New York dealer Sam Salz during the Second World War.