Small Study for a Nude

1882

Auguste Renoir

Artist, French, 1841 - 1919

A nude woman with long blond hair stands in front of a landscape in this vertical painting. Brushstrokes are visible and textured throughout so details are loosely painted and indistinct. The woman’s body is painted in shades of pale and shell pink, and a few strokes suggest an arm wrapped across her middle and two legs. Next to her, in the lower left corner of the canvas, is an area painted thickly with white and blue brushstrokes. Behind the woman, there appears to be a light blue body of water. Soft horizontal green and red strokes just above it may represent land, merging with a light blue horizon. On the right of the canvas, bright yellow dashes suggest flowers. The artist signed the lower right corner with a cursive “R.”

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 13.3 x 10.3 cm (5 1/4 x 4 1/16 in.)
    framed: 25 x 22.2 x 4.7 cm (9 13/16 x 8 3/4 x 1 7/8 in.)

  • Accession

    1970.17.73

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Ambroise Vollard [1867-1939], Paris). Capt. Edward H. Molyneux [1891-1974], Paris, by 1952;[1] sold 15 August 1955 to Ailsa Mellon Bruce [1901-1969], New York; bequest 1970 to NGA.
[1]Exhibited as part of the Molyneux collection in 1952 at the National Gallery of Art.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1952

  • French Paintings from the Molyneux Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1952, unnumbered checklist.

1958

  • Paintings from the Collection of Mrs. Mellon Bruce, Society of the Four Arts, Palm Beach, 1958, no. 34, as Nude Figure

1961

  • French Paintings of the Nineteenth Century from the Collection of Mrs. Mellon Bruce, California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, 1961, no. 50, repro

1978

  • Small French Paintings from the Bequest of Ailsa Mellon Bruce. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1978: 64, repro. (continuing exhibition beginning in 1978).

Bibliography

1918

  • Vollard, Ambroise. Tableaux, Pastels & Dessins de Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Paris, 1918:2: 157, repro.

1971

  • Daulte, Francois. Auguste Renoir, catalogue raisonne de l'oeuvre peint. Vol.I. Figures 1860-1890. Lausanne, 1971: no. 417

1975

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 300, repro., as Nude.

1978

  • Small French Paintings from the Bequest of Ailsa Mellon Bruce. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1978: 64, repro. (continuing exhibition beginning in 1978).

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 346, repro.

Inscriptions

lower right: R.

Wikidata ID

Q20189546

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