Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Ambroise Vollard, Paris
Sam Salz, New York
Private Collection (acquired from the above circa 1955)
Private Collection, California (by descent from the above and sold: Sotheby's, New York, November 3, 2010, lot 129)
Acquired at the above sale

Canvas is unlined. Edges are reinforced with tape. The surface is well preserved and some rich areas of impasto are present in the flowers and the body of the vase. There is a thin layer of varnish on the surface. Under UV light a few lines of old retouching are visible along the extreme upper edge, at extreme lower left corner and left edge. Additionally there are several dots of retouching in the background to the left of the vase and one pindot in the blossom of the background lower at the lower right of the bouquet, otherwise fine. This work is in good condition.
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.

Roses blanches dans un vase is a testimony to Renoir’s mastery of the Impressionist aesthetic, particularly in his ability to replicate the pure luxuriance of a floral arrangement. Like many Impressionists, Renoir did not rely on the trompe l'oeil techniques that had been utilized by artists for centuries in order to portray his still life so convincingly. Rather, he drew upon his own creative ingenuity and his initial impressions of the image, rendering it with extraordinary freshness. As was noted at the time of a 1988 retrospective exhibition, "For an artist enamoured with color, flowers provide a perfect subject—infinitely varied, malleable to any arrangement. Several of Renoir's most beautiful paintings...are flower pieces. Renoir painted many pictures of flowers in addition to the more numerous figures and landscapes. Flowers appear frequently in his paintings as hat decorations or as part of the landscape behind figures even when they are not the main motif. Renoir himself said that when painting flowers he was able to paint more freely and boldly, without the mental effort he made with a model before him. Also, he found the painting of flowers to be helpful in painting human figures" (Renoir Retrospective (exhibition catalogue), Nagoya City Art Museum, 1988, p. 247). Renoir revealed the importance of the floral subject matter and the motif’s artistic and emotional importance to him when he stated, “When I paint flowers, my mind has a rest. I do not make the same mental effort with them as when I am face to face with a model. When I paint flowers, I put down different shades of color and try out some bold tonal values, without worrying about spoiling a canvas” (quoted in Peter H. Feist, Pierre-August Renoir: A Dream of Harmony, Cologne, 1987, p. 78).