Diana
1867
Artist, French, 1841 - 1919

Renoir had his girlfriend Lise Tréhot pose as the ancient Roman goddess Diana. He chose a mythological subject and painted it at grand scale in hopes of getting this picture into the largest art show of the time, the Salon. But the jury rejected it. The realism of the sitter’s body and the bloody head of the dead deer at her feet must have been too much for them. Seven years later, Renoir would participate in the first impressionist exhibition. Although he continued submitting to the Salon, he generally exhibited in alternative spaces and dealer galleries.

West Building Main Floor, Gallery 90
Artwork overview
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Medium
oil on canvas
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Credit Line
-
Dimensions
overall: 199.5 x 129.5 cm (78 9/16 x 51 in.)
framed: 222.6 x 159.1 cm (87 5/8 x 62 5/8 in.) -
Accession
1963.10.205
More About this Artwork

Article: 1874: The Birth of Impressionism
Discover how a landmark exhibition led to the birth of an influential movement.
Artwork history & notes
Provenance
Dr. George Viau [1855-1939], Paris; (his sale, Paris, 21 March 1907, no. 68); purchased by (Bernheim-Jeune, Paris) for an unknown buyer. Alexandre Berthier [1883-1918], 4th Prince de Wagram, Paris; sold probably by his heirs though (Canadeesche Hypothek Bank) through (Étienne Bignou, Paris) to (Alex Reid & Lefèvre, London); on joint account with (M. Knoedler & Co., London, New York and Paris) and (Marcel Kapferer);[1] sold 25 November 1929 to (Etienne Bignou, Paris and New York);[2] sold 16 January 1933 to to Chester Dale [1882-1962], New York; bequest 1963 to NGA.
[1] Reid & Lefèvre Paintings Sold, sheet no. 198, #2/29 B1394 gives acquisition source and partial share information (Lefèvre archives, Hyman Kreitman Research Centre, Tate Britain, London, TGA 2002/11, Box 283). An annotated photograph of the painting is included in the Bignou photo albums at the documentation center of the Musée d'Orsay, Paris (copy NGA curatorial files).
[2] M. Knoedler & Co. Records, accession number 2012.M.54, Research Library, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles: Painting Stockbook no. 5, London 1928-1939, and Stockbook no. 8, New York, no. A614; copies in NGA curatorial files.
Associated Names
Exhibition History
1900
Exposition A. Renoir, Galeries Bernheim Jeune et Fils, Paris, 1900, no. 40 as Diane chasseresse.
1913
Renoir, Bernheim-Jeune et Fils, Paris, 1913, no. 1.
1929
The Classical Period of Renoir, M. Knoedler & Co., New York, November 1929, no. X.
1933
A Century of Progress, The Art Institute of Chicago, 1933, no. 341.
1965
The Chester Dale Bequest, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1965, unnumbered checklist.
2010
From Impressionism to Modernism: The Chester Dale Collection, Washington, National Gallery of Art, January 2010-January 2012, unnumbered catalogue, repro.
2016
Frédéric Bazille (1841-1870) and The Birth of Impressionism, Musée Fabre, Montpelier; Musée d'Orsay, Paris; National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2016-2017, no. 125 (shown only in Washington).
Bibliography
1911
Meier-Graefe, Julius. Auguste Renoir. Munich, 1911:8-9, repro. p. 11.
1912
Meier-Graefe, Julius. Renoir. Paris, 1912: p. 7 repro.
1918
Vollard, Ambroise. Tableaux, Pastels & Dessins de Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Paris, 1918: p3, repro. 372.
1920
André, Albert. "Renoir." Kunst und Künstler. Berlin, 1920: repro. p. 474.
1924
Duret, Théodore. Renoir. Paris, 1924: repro. plate 2.
1925
Coquiot, Gustave. Renoir. Paris, 1925: 223.
Vollard, Ambroise. Renoir: An intimate Record. New York, 1925: 38.
1929
Meier-Graefe, Julius. Renoir. Leipzig, 1929: 20-22, repro. p. 17, no. 3.
"A Renoir Exhibition." The Burlington Magazine 55, no. 320 (November 1929):252, repro.
1933
"Chicago Show to Present French Modern Classics." Art News XXXI, no. 34 (May 20, 1933):repro. p. 1.
1935
Bertram, Anthony. August Renoir. London, 1935: repro. plate I.
Barnes, Albert C. and Violette de Mazia. The Art of Renoir. New York, 1935: no. 4.
1937
Duret, Théodore. Renoir. New York, 1937: repro. 32
McBride, Henry. "The Renoirs in America: In Appreciation of the Metropolitan Museum's Exhibition," Art News 35, no. 31 (1 May 1937):60, repro.
1938
Florisoone, Michel. Renior. Paris, 1938: 16.
1940
Wilenski, R.H. Modern French Painters. New York, 1940:18-19.
1941
Catalogue of French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1941: 12, repro. XXII
Frankfurter, Alfred M. "Now the Great French 19th Century in the National Gallery." Art News 40, no. 17 (December 15-31, 1941):repro. p. 18
1942
French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1942: 61, repro.
1944
French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1944: 61, repro.
Drucker, Michel. Renoir. Paris, 1944:17, 29, 111.
1946
Rewald, John. The History of Impressionism. New York, 1946: repro. 146.
1949
Chamson, André. Renoir. Lausanne, 1949:9, repro. pl. 3
1950
Pach, Walter. Pierre Auguste Renoir. New York, 1950: 36, repro.
A Loan Exhibition of Renoir for the Benefit of the New York Infirmary. Exh. cat. Wildenstein, New York, 1950: 24.
1952
Fox, Milton S. Renoir. New York, 1952: 9, repro.
1953
French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1953: 71, repro.
Berr de Turique, Marcelle. Renoir. Paris, c. 1953: 5.
1954
Rouart, Denis. Renoir. Geneva, 1954: 18, repro.
1961
Fosca, François. Renoir, His Life and Work. London, 1961: repro. 11.
Rewald, John. The History of Impressionism. 3rd rev. ed., New York, 1961:repro. p. 166.
1963
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1963 (reprinted 1964 in French, German, and Spanish): 324, repro.
1964
Perruchot, Henri. La vie de Renoir. Paris, 1964:47
1965
Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 113.
Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Paintings & Sculpture of the French School in the Chester Dale Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 107, repro.
1967
Pool, Phoebe. Impressionism. London, 1967: repro. p. 50
1968
National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 99, repro.
1971
Daulte, Francois. Auguste Renoir, catalogue raisonne de l'oeuvre peint. Vol.I. Figures 1860-1890. Lausanne, 1971: 26, 34, no. 30
1972
Fezzi, Elda. L'opera completa di Renoir nel period impressionista. Milan, 1972: no. 20.
1973
Rewald, John. The History of Impressionism. New York, 1973:1965, repro. 166.
Champa, Kermit S. Studies in Early Impressionism. New Haven and London, 1973: 43, 44-49, 83, repro.
White, Barbara Ehrlich. "The Bathers of 1887 and Renoir's Anti-Impressionism," Art Bulletin 55, no. 1 (March 1973): 111
1974
Fouchet, Max-Pol. Les Nus de Renoir. Paris and Lausanne, 1974:67, repro. 66.
1975
European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 294, repro.
1976
Bellony-Rewald, Alice. The Lost World of the Impressionists. Boston, 1976: 44.
1980
Thomas, David. Renoir. London, 1980:6
1984
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 469, no. 684, color repro.
1985
Rouart, Denis. Renoir. Rev. ed., New York, 1985: 12, repro. 13.
Arts Council of Great Britain. Renoir. Exh. cat., Hayward Gallery , London, Galleries nationales du Grand Palais, Paris, and Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1985-1986:180, repro.
European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 339, repro.
1991
Kopper, Philip. America's National Gallery of Art: A Gift to the Nation. New York, 1991: 8, color repro.
1993
Bajou, Valérie. Frédéric Bazille 1841-1870. Aix-en-Provence, 1993:101-102, repro. 103
1996
Sagner-Düchting, Karin. Renoir: Paris and the Belle Epoque. Munich, 1996:22, repro. 23.
Roos, Jane Mayo. Early Impressionism and the French State (1866-1874). Cambridge, 1996: 84, fig. 63.
1997
Druick, Douglas W. Renoir, Chicago, 1997, p. 19, no. 7, repro.
Kelder, Diane. The Great Book of French Impressionism, 1997, no. 214, repro.
1998
Pitman, Dianne W. Bazille: Purity, Pose, and Painting in the 1860s. The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1998: 58-60, repro. no. 29.
2004
Hand, John Oliver. National Gallery of Art: Master Paintings from the Collection. Washington and New York, 2004: 378-379, no. 312, color repro.
2007
Dauberville, Guy-Patrice, and Michel Dauberville. Renoir: Catalogue raisonné des tableaux, pastels, dessins et aquarelles. 5 vols. Paris, 2007: 1:no. 578, repro.
2022
Galvez, Paul. Courbet’s Landscapes: The Origins of Modern Painting. New Haven, 2022: 134, 135-137, color fig. 58, 141.
Inscriptions
lower right: A. RENOIR 1867
Wikidata ID
Q20188694