Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Ambroise Vollard, Paris
Joseph Hessel, Paris
Knoedler & Co., New York
Sam Salz, New York
Sale: Christie's, New York, October 31, 1978, lot 14
Acquavella Galleries, New York
Acquired from the above circa 1980

Paris, Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, 1935

This work is in excellent condition. Original canvas. Under UV light: a one inch area of uneven varnish fluoresces at center of bottom edge but no inpainting is apparent.
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.

Painted in 1903, Gabrielle is a fine example of Renoir's late portraiture. In the summer of 1894, Gabrielle Renard came to Paris to serve as nursemaid to the artist's infant son, Jean. It was then that Renoir began painting a series of his new young model with his children in intimate, domestic settings. Gabrielle revived in the artist his early Impressionist spirit, while inspiring a new tendency towards Classicism.

The present work demonstrates a particularly high level of finish, and the chosen palette of warm and deeper hues differs from Renoir's earlier pale pastel tones. The series that the artist painted of Gabrielle, with the children or alone, "reveals the extraordinary deliberations with which Renoir approached a body of work that appears, at first sight, among his most natural and spontaneous" (C. Bailey, Renoir's Portraits: Impressions of an Age, New Haven & London, 1997, p. 224).

As a "highly-spirited, independent, but fiercely loyal member of the household", Gabrielle became the most important and favored model of Renoir's later years, posing both nude and clothed for nearly 200 of the artist's paintings" (ibid., p. 224). Renoir often depicted Gabrielle in profile wearing a red blouse, with a natural facial expression. Her downward gaze is reminiscent of the compassionate and nurturing expressions captured by Renoir in intimate scenes in which Gabrielle interacts with the artist's son.

Fig. 1 Photograph of the artist, 1875, Musée d'Orsay, Paris