Head of a Dog

1870

Auguste Renoir

Artist, French, 1841 - 1919

The head and floppy ears of a dog with a delicate muzzle are loosely painted in this vertical portrait. The dog’s head is cocked to our left, and it looks at us with large, glistening black eyes. Its fur is mottled caramel brown, black, and dark gray except for a white blaze on its forehead and down around its mouth. A silver bell glints on a black collar. The dog’s body fades out below the collar, and that area and the background are painted with strokes of oyster white and a few areas of shale blue. The artist signed the lower left corner, “Renoir.”

Media Options

This object’s media is free and in the public domain. Read our full Open Access policy for images.
Not on view See artworks now on view

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 21.9 x 20 cm (8 5/8 x 7 7/8 in.)
    framed: 36.2 x 35.8 x 5 cm (14 1/4 x 14 1/8 x 1 15/16 in.)

  • Accession

    1970.17.57

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Capt. Edward H. Molyneux [1891-1974], Paris, by 1952;[1] sold 1955 to Ailsa Mellon Bruce [1901-1969], New York; bequest 1970 to NGA.
[1]In exhibition of Molyneux collection held 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.

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. 45, repro

1966

  • French Paintings from the Collections of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon and Mrs. Mellon Bruce, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1966, no. 100, repro

1978

  • Small French Paintings from the Bequest of Ailsa Mellon Bruce, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1978, unnumbered catalogue, repro.

2000

  • Impression: Painting Quickly in France, 1860-1890, National Gallery, London; Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam; Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, 2000-2001, fig. 115.

2012

  • Renoir: la vie en peinture, Scuderie del Castello Visconteo, Pavia, 2012, no. 1, repro.

Bibliography

1918

  • Vollard, Ambroise. Tableaux, Pastels & Dessins de Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Paris, 1918: I: no. 61, repro.

1975

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 296, repro.

1978

  • Small French Paintings from the Bequest of Ailsa Mellon Bruce. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1978: 40, repro. (continuing exhibition beginning in 1978).

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 471, no. 691, color repro.

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 341, repro.

2000

  • Brettell, Richard R. Impressionism: Painting Quickly in France. Exh. cat., The National Gallery, London; van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, and Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA. New Haven and London, 2000: 170, repro. 115.

2007

  • Dauberville, Guy-Patrice, and Michel Dauberville. Renoir: Catalogue raisonné des tableaux, pastels, dessins et aquarelles. 5 vols. Paris, 2007: 1:no. 50.

Inscriptions

lower left: .Renoir.

Wikidata ID

Q20188729

You may be interested in

Loading Results