Provenance

Elisabeth Marguerite, Princesse de La Tour d'Auvergne-Lauraguais

French

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Shown from the hips up, a pale-skinned young woman wearing a white dress sits smiling gently at us in this vertical portrait painting. Blended strokes of pearl white, cool green, and muted blue create an overall soft, almost blurred look. The woman’s body is angled to our left, but she turns her face to look at us with brown eyes under dark, curved brows. She has a heart-shaped face with rosy cheeks, a thin, short nose, and full, pink lips, which are closed in a smile. Her honey-blond hair is swept up and back, but a few tendrils curl on her forehead and the nape of her neck. The neckline of her sleeveless white dress is cut low. The bodice fits tightly to a narrow waist, and a sprig of flowers is suggested by a few strokes of fern green and bright white at the center of the chest. A pale blue collar or ruffled band encircles her neck like a choker. Her hands rest together in her lap, and a white cloth loops over her forearms. The background is painted with loose strokes of powder blue and sage green against the off-white of the canvas, which is visible in some areas, especially along the left edge. The artist signed the painting near the woman’s elbow to our left, “Renoir.”
Auguste Renoir, Madame Henriot, c. 1876, oil on canvas, Gift of the Adele R. Levy Fund, Inc., 1961.3.1

Madame Henriot

Auguste Renoir · c. 1876 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1961.3.1

Shown from the lap up, a pale-skinned woman wearing a floral-print dress holds a black lap dog in this vertical portrait painting. The woman’s body is angled to our right, and she gently smiles as she looks slightly down in that direction with blue eyes. She has a round face, rosy, smooth cheeks, pale pink lips, and a double chin. Her brown hair is mostly covered by a hat with a brown brim and pale yellow crown. A bloom of white feathers nestles at the top front of the hat. Her dress is pale pink with a floral pattern painted with dabs of yellow, red, blue, and green. A burgundy-red bow is tied around her neck and lies limply down her chest. The woman wears gold bracelets over pale olive-green gloves that stretch almost to her elbows. Her fingers are interlaced as she holds the shaggy black dog in her lap. The dog’s front paws rest over the woman’s right forearm, to our left. A table in the background to the right holds a wide-mouthed, lapis-blue vase painted with a yellow and orange bird and white flowers. The vase holds at least a dozen pink, red, and white flowers and greenery. The background is painted with strokes of turquoise and mint green. Some brushstrokes are visible, as in the flowers and the woman’s dress, and some brushstrokes are blended, as in the woman’s face. The artist signed the painting near the bottom right corner, “Renoir 83.”
Auguste Renoir, Mlle Charlotte Berthier, 1883, oil on canvas, Gift of Angelika Wertheim Frink, 1969.10.1

Mlle Charlotte Berthier

Auguste Renoir · 1883 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1969.10.1