- 221
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Estimate
180,000 - 250,000 USD
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Description
- Pierre-Auguste Renoir
- Paysage
- Signed Renoir (lower right)
- Oil on canvas
- 11 by 15 in.
- 28 by 38.1 cm
Provenance
Private Collection, Tokyo
Acquired from the above circa 1991
Acquired from the above circa 1991
Literature
Ambroise Vollard, Tableaux, pastels & dessins de Pierre-Auguste Renoir, vol. II, Paris, 1918, illustrated pl. 63
Condition
Work is in very good condition. Canvas is lined. Impast is rich and textured. Under UV light, 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.
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.
Catalogue Note
This magnificent landscape is a quintessential example of Renoir’s late countryside scenes, which are characterized by vibrant colors and swift brushstrokes which together evoke a lush, serene environment. Known for portraiture, Renoir often included figures in his landscapes. Paysage, however, is unique in that the only notion of human life is the small white cottage tucked away in the lush landscape in the middle ground. The rapid brushwork seems informal yet is carefully considered, composed of rich shades of green suggesting the autumnal leaves of the trees. Speaking of his own painterly technique, Renoir once said he desired for “people to feel that neither my figures nor my trees are flat” (quoted in Renoir (exhibition catalogue), Boston, Museum of Fine Arts; London, Hayward Gallery & Paris, Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais, 1985, p. 278).
He painted specifically with the “solidity, fullness, richness, reality, dignity, depth and majesty, all of which are embodied in compositions characterized by dynamic relations between solid volumes of color and units of colorful space” (Albert C. Barnes, The Art of Renoir, Pennsylvania, 1935, p. 115). Indeed, Paysage highlights the very vanguard approach that made Renoir such an inspiration to his contemporaries. It was his vivacity that caught the attention of artists like Vincent van Gogh, who wrote to his brother Théo in 1885 that Renoir reminded him that “there is life in every pencil stroke” (quoted in Keith Wheldon, Renoir and his Art, New York, 1975, p. 120). Such commentary sparks a stimulating dialogue regarding technique and composition between the two painters (see fig. 1).
He painted specifically with the “solidity, fullness, richness, reality, dignity, depth and majesty, all of which are embodied in compositions characterized by dynamic relations between solid volumes of color and units of colorful space” (Albert C. Barnes, The Art of Renoir, Pennsylvania, 1935, p. 115). Indeed, Paysage highlights the very vanguard approach that made Renoir such an inspiration to his contemporaries. It was his vivacity that caught the attention of artists like Vincent van Gogh, who wrote to his brother Théo in 1885 that Renoir reminded him that “there is life in every pencil stroke” (quoted in Keith Wheldon, Renoir and his Art, New York, 1975, p. 120). Such commentary sparks a stimulating dialogue regarding technique and composition between the two painters (see fig. 1).