National Gallery of Art

Overview

The Dancer was one of seven works that Renoir included in the first exhibition of the Société anonyme coopérative des artistes, peintres, sculpteurs, graveurs, etc., which opened in April 1874. In contrast to works by most of the other artists in the group—soon to be dubbed the impressionists—Renoir's paintings were relatively well received. The Dancer in particular was singled out for attention. While some dismissed it as being little more than a sketch and lacking in good draftsmanship (the same criticisms leveled at many of the works on display), others found it graceful and charming, praising its realism and originality of conception. As one writer remarked, "The Danseuse is true to life and has a fine and nervous elegance in its truth."  Another admired the dancer's head, which he described as "fresh, alive, with a very simple modeling and a very accurate bearing."

The Dancer inevitably calls to mind the work of Renoir's fellow impressionist Edgar Degas, whose name is now synonymous with depictions of ballet dancers. In contrast to Degas, whose interest lay in depicting dancers in repose, captured in unguarded and unselfconscious moments, Renoir chose to paint a more formal portrait. Both the painting's scale and the figure's prominence (placed in the very center of the composition, she dominates the entire canvas) hark back to traditional portraits, lending this work a gravity somewhat at odds with the painting's modern subject. Shown in profile, her silk-slippered feet placed in classic fifth position, Renoir's dancer is poised and alert as she turns her gaze toward the viewer.  Renoir accentuated the dancer's youth, highlighting the roundness of her face, the still boyish flatness of her chest, even the way the fingers of her left hand appear to toy nervously with tulle of her skirt. Although Renoir himself never identified the figure, the model is almost certainly Henriette Henriot, the young actress who posed regularly for the artist in the mid-1870s and whose likeness was featured in La Parisienne (National Museum of Wales, Cardiff), another large-scale painting shown by Renoir in the 1874 exhibition.  Renoir skillfully transformed his model's appearance, depicting her with equal verve as both a sweet-faced adolescent on the verge of adulthood and a fashionable performer.

Ultimately, however, Renoir's virtuoso brushwork is the painting's most compelling feature. His paint handling is varied, ranging from the delicate brushstrokes that define the dancer's face to the loose, almost careless application of paint in the picture's background. The dancer's skirt is a true tour de force; Renoir masterfully captured the gauzy softness of the tulle. It floats about her body like a cloud, seeming to dissolve into the hazy background, the fabric as light and insubstantial as mist.

Four years after appearing in this historic exhibition, The Dancer was purchased by Charles-Henri Deudon, who amassed a small but important collection of impressionist paintings. In addition to this work, Deudon would go on to acquire five more paintings by Renoir as well as Manet's Plum Brandy.

Inscription

lower right: A. Renoir. 74.

Provenance

(Durand-Ruel et Cie, Paris); sold 17 May 1878 to Charles Deudon [1832-1914], Paris and Nice; his cousin Eugène Deudon [1841-1916]; sold 8 March 1899 to Paul Durand-Ruel [1831-1922, in his private collection], Paris;[1] his family; inheritance from Estate of Peter A.B. Widener by gift through power of appointment of Joseph E. Widener, Elkins Park, after purchase by funds of the Estate, by 1925;[2] gift 1942 to NGA.

Exhibition History

1874

Première Exposition, Société Anonyme des Artistes Peintres, Sculptuers, Graveurs, etc. [First Impressionist Exhibition], Paris, 1874, no. 141.

1883

Exposition des oeuvres de P.A. Renoir, Durand-Ruel, Paris, 1883, no. 36.

1899

Exposition de tableaux de Monet, Pissarro, Renoir & Sisley, Galeries Durand-Ruel, Paris, 1899, no. 73.

1900

Exposition universelle, Paris, 1900, no. 561.

1903

XVIth Exhibition, Vienna Succession, 1903, no. 48.

1905

Pictures by Boudin, Cézanne, Degas, Manet, Monet, Morisot, Pissarro, Renoir, Sisley, Grafton Galleries, London, 1905, no. 240, as The Ballet Girl.

1914

Art Français, Grosvenor House, London, 1914, no. 67.

1920

Renoir, Galeries Durand-Ruel, Paris, 1920, no. 25.

1932

Exhibition of French Art 1200-1900, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1932, no. 406.

1933

Exposition Renoir 1841-1919, Musée de l'Orangerie, Paris, 1933, no. 17a.

1937

Renoir. A Special Exhibition of His Paintings, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1937, no. 5, repro.

1939

Seven Centuries of Painting. A Loan Exhibition of Old and Modern Masters, California Palace of the Legion of Honor and The M.H. de Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco, 1939-1940, no. Y-138, repro. (shown at he de Young Memorial Museum).

1941

Renoir Centennial Loan Exhibition 1841-1941 for the Benefit of the Free French Relief Committee, Duveen Galleries, New York, 1941, no. 7, repro.

1950

Diamond Jubilee Exhibition: Masterpieces of Painting, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1950-1951, no. 76, repro.

1982

Manet and Modern Paris, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1982-1983, no. 35, repro.

1986

The New Painting: Impressionism 1874-1886, National Gallery of Art, Washington, and The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 1986, no. 17, repro.

1987

Loan for display with permanent collection, Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, 1987.

1994

Paris in 1874: The Year of Impressionism, National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 1994, no. 42, repro.

2011

Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Art, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; The National Art Center, Tokyo; Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, 2011, no. 40, repro.

2012

Renoir, Impressionism, and Full-Length Painting, The Frick Collection, New York, 2012, unnumbered catalogue, repro.

Bibliography

1874

Burty, Philippe. "Exposition de la société anonyme des artistes." La Republique française (25 April 1874): 2 [transcribed in Berson, Ruth, ed. The New Painting: Impressionism 1874-1886: documentation. 2 vols. San Francisco, 1996: I:36-38].

1874

Carjat, Etienne. "L'Exposition de boulevard du Capucines." Le Patriote français (27 April 1874): 3 [transcribed in Berson, Ruth, ed. The New Painting: Impressionism 1874-1886: documentation. 2 vols. San Francisco, 1996: I: 14]

1874

Chesneau, Ernest. "A côte du Salon: II: Le Plein Air: Exposition du boulevard des Capucines." Paris-Journal (7 May 1874): 2 and Le Soir (7 May 1874): 3 [transcribed in Berson, Ruth, ed. The New Painting: Impressionism 1874-1886: documentation. 2 vols. San Francisco, 1996: I:17-19].

1874

Chesneau, Ernest. "Au Salon: Avertissement préalable." Paris Journal (9 May 1874):2 and Le Soir (9 May 1874):3 [transcribed in Berson, Ruth, ed. The New Painting: Impressionism 1874-1886: documentation. 2 vols. San Francisco, 1996: I:19-20].

1874

de Gantès, F. "Courrier artistique: L'Exposition du Boulevard." La Semaine parisienne (23 April 1874):63-64 [transcribed in Berson, Ruth, ed. The New Painting: Impressionism 1874-1886: documentation. 2 vols. San Francisco, 1996:22-23]

1874

de Lora, Léon. "Petites Nouvelles artistiques: Exposition libre des peintres." Le Gaulois (18 April 1874):3 [transcribed in Berson, Ruth, ed. The New Painting: Impressionism 1874-1886: documentation. 2 vols. San Francisco, 1996: I:26-28].

1874

de Malte, C. "Exposition de la société anonyme des artistes peintres, sculpteurs, graveurs et lithographes." Paris à l'eau-forte (19 April 1874): 12-13 [transcribed in Berson, Ruth, ed. The New Painting: Impressionism 1874-1886: documentation. 2 vols. San Francisco, 1996: I:27-28].

1874

de Montifaud, Marc. "Exposition du boulevard des Capucines." L'Artiste (1 May 1874): 307-313 [transcribed in Berson, Ruth, ed. The New Painting: Impressionism 1874-1886: documentation. 2 vols. San Francisco, 1996: I:28-29].

1874

E.C. "Chronique: Beaux-Arts Expositions de peintures modernes." Revue de France 10 (April 1874):254-255 [transcribed in Berson, Ruth, ed. The New Painting: Impressionism 1874-1886: documentation. 2 vols. San Francisco, 1996: I: 11].

1874

Leroy, Louis. "L'Exposition des impressionnistes." Le Charivari (25 April 1874): 79-80 [transcribed in Berson, Ruth, ed. The New Painting: Impressionism 1874-1886: documentation. 2 vols. San Francisco, 1996: I:25-26].

1874

Prouvaire, Jean. "L'Exposition du boulevard des Capucines." Le Rappel (20 April 1874): 3 [transcribed in Berson, Ruth, ed. The New Painting: Impressionism 1874-1886: documentation. 2 vols. San Francisco, 1996: I:34-36].

1874

Silvestre, Armand. "Chronique des beaux-arts: Physiologie du refusé - L'Exposition des révoltés." L'Opinion nationale (22 April 1874): 2-3 [transcribed in Berson, Ruth, ed. The New Painting: Impressionism 1874-1886: documentation. 2 vols. San Francisco, 1996: I:39-40].

1903

Heilbut, E. "Die Impressionistenausstellung der Wiener Secession." Kunst und Künstler I, no. v-vi (February-March 1903):180-182, repro.

1904

Mauclair, Camille. L'Impressionisme, son histoire, son esthétique, ses maîtres. Paris, 1904:repro. facing p. 140.

1907

Bénédite, Leonce. "Madame Charpentier and her Children, by Auguste Renoir." The Burlington Magazine. 12, no. 57 (December 1907): 130.

1910

Duret, Théodore. Manet and the French Impressionists. Translated by J.E. Crawford Flitch. London and Philadelphia, 1910:162.

1911

Guillemot, Maurcie. "Dans l'atelier de Renoir." Gil Blas no. 12652 (6 October 1911):1

1911

Meier-Graefe, Julius. Auguste Renoir. Munich, 1911:51, repro.

1912

Meier-Graefe, Julius. Renoir. Paris, 1912: p. 47 repro.

1912

Pach, Walter. "Pierre Auguste Renoir." Scribner's Magazine lI, no. 5 (May 1912):606, repro.

1918

Vollard, Ambroise. Tableaux, Pastels & Dessins de Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Paris, 1918: repro. 82.

1919

Duret, Théodore. Histoire des peintres impressionnistes: Pissarro, Claude Monet, Sisley, Renoir, Berthe Morisot, Cezanne, Guillaumin. 2nd ed. Paris, 1919:85, 90.

1919

Vollard, Ambroise. La vie & l'oeuvre de Pierre-August Renoir, Paris, 1919:63.

1920

Meier-Graefe, Julius. Auguste Renoir. 2nd ed. Munich, 1920: 44-46, repro. p. 47.

1921

Rivière, Georges. Renoir et ses Amis. Paris, 1921:18-20, 50, 60, repro. p. 19.

1923

Fosca, François. Renoir. Paris, 1923: 14, repro.

1923

Jamot, Paul. "Renoir (1841-1919)." Gazette des Beaux Arts series 5, vol. VIII, no. 741 (November 1923): 258,272-273, 274, repro.

1924

Cortissoz, Royal. Seven Paintings by Renoir. Paris and New York, 1924:9, repro.

1924

Duret, Théodore. Renoir. Paris, 192442, 62-63, repro. pl. 7.

1924

Fosca, François. Renoir. Translated by Hubert Wellington. London, 1924: 15, plate 1.

1924

Vollard, Ambroise Auguste Renoir. Berlin, 1924:56.

1925

Coquiot, Gustave. Renoir. Paris, 1925: 66, 225.

1925

Cortissoz, Royal. Personalities in Art. New York and London, 1925: 279, 281, 282, repro.

1928

Bourgeois, Stephan. The Adolph Lewisohn Collection of Modern French Paintings and Sculptures. New York, 1928:124.

1928

Cortissoz, Royal. "Auguste Renoir and the Cult for Beauty" International Studio (August 1928): 17, repro. p. 19.

1928

Stein, Leo. A. Renoir 24 Phototypies. Les Albums d'art Druet XIII. Paris, 1928: plate 11.

1929

Besson, George. Renoir. Paris, 1929:7.

1929

Meier-Graefe, Julius. Renoir. Leipzig, 1929: 65, repro. p. 74, no. 43.

1930

Cortissoz, Royal. The Painter's Craft. New York and London, 1930: 229-230, 233.

1931

Paintings in the Collection of Joseph Widener at Lynnewood Hall. Intro. by Wilhelm R. Valentiner. Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, 1931: 184, repro.

1932

Rosenberg, Jakob. "Die Ausstellungen der Nationen in London." Kunst und Kunstler 31 (January-February 1932): 11, repro.

1932

Wildenstein, Georges. "Paintings from America in the French Exhibition." The Fine Arts 18 (January 1932): 54, repro.

1933

Grappe, Georges. "Renoir." L'Art vivant 174 (July 1933):280.

1933

Guenne, J. "La religion de Renoir." L'Art vivant 174 (July 1933): repro. p. 277.

1933

Roger-Marx, Claude. Renoir. Paris, 1933:29, 125, repro. p. 41.

1933

Roger-Marx, Claude. "Unité de Renoir." L'Art vivant 174 (July 1933):291.

1934

Vollard, Ambroise. Renoir: An Intimate Record. New York, 1934:67, 237

1935

Barnes, Albert C. and Violette de Mazia. The Art of Renoir. New York, 1935: 50n., 55-57, 58n., 59, 60n., 64, 116n., 153, 177, 193n. 200n., no. 32, repro.

1937

Comstock, Helen. "The Connoisseur in America: The Renoir Loan Exhibition." The Connoisseur 100, no. 433 (September 1937): 154.

1937

McBride, Henry. "The Renoirs in America: In Appreciation of the Metropolitan Museum's Exhibition," Art News 35, no. 31 (1 May 1937): 158, repro.

1938

Vollard, Ambroise. En écoutant Cézanne, Degas, Renoir. Paris, 1938: 176.

1938

Waldmann, Emil. "Die Sammlung Widener." Pantheon 22 (November 1938): 335.

1939

Venturi, Lionello. Les archives de l'impressionnisme. 2 vols. Paris and New York, 1939: I: 153, 289; II: 200, 256.

1940

Wilenski, R.H. Modern French Painters. New York, 1940: 33, 62, 161-162, 337, 370.

1941

"L'Exposition du Centénaire de Renoir a la Galerie Duveen." Voix de France (15 November 1941):5, repro.

1941

Whitehill, Virginia N. Stepping Stones in Nineteenth Century Painting. New York, 1941:32-33.

1942

Mather, Frank Jewett. "The Widener Collection at Washington." Magazine of Art 35 (October 1942): 195-203, repro.

1943

Graber, Hans. Auguste Renoir nach eigenen und fremden Zeugnissen. Basel, 1943: 12, 46, 47, 50, 167

1944

Drucker, Michel. Renoir. Paris, 1944:37, 41, 47, 131, 150, 183-185, 196, no. 24, reprol pl. 24.

1944

Wilenski, R.H. Modern French Painters. London, 1944: 33, 62, 161-162, 337, 370.

1945

Rewald, John. "Depressionist Days of the Impressionists." Art News 43 (1-14 February 1945): repro.

1946

Rewald, John, ed. Renoir Drawings. New York, 1946: 19, no. 27.

1946

Rewald, John. The History of Impressionism. New York, 1946: 256, repro. 257.

1948

Leclerc, André. Renoir. New York, 1948: repro. 35.

1948

Paintings and Sculpture from the Widener Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1948 (reprinted 1959): 109, repro.

1948

Zahar, Marcel. Renoir. London, 1948: viii, ix, xi no. 16, repro.

1949

Chamson, André. Renoir. Lausanne, 1949:13, 15.

1950

A Loan Exhibition of Renoir for the Benefit of the New York Infirmary. Exh. cat. Wildenstein, New York, 1950: 27.

1950

Pach, Walter. Pierre Auguste Renoir. New York, 1950:44, repro.

1952

Cairns, Huntington, and John Walker, eds., Great Paintings from the National Gallery of Art. New York, 1952: 164, color repro.

1952

Gaunt, William. Renoir. London, 1952: 6, 9, plate 12.

1953

Berr de Turique, Marcelle. Renoir. Paris, c. 1953: 6, 9, repro. plate 12.

1954

Rouart, Denis. Renoir. Geneva, 1954:30,34.

1955

Leymarie, Jean. Impressionisme. 2 vols. Geneva, 1955:II:72, repro.

1955

Rewald, John. Histoire de l'Impressionisme. Paris, 1955:205, 207.

1956

Bérard, Maurice. "Un Diplomate, ami de Renoir." Revue d'histoire diplomatique (July-September 1956): 240.

1959

National Gallery of Art. Paintings and Sculpture from the Widener Collection. Reprint. Washington, DC, 1959: 109, repro.

1960

Daulte, François. "Le marchand des Impressionistes." L'Oeil 66 (June 1960): 54-61, 75 repro.

1961

Feist, Peter H. Auguste Renoir. Leipzig, 1961:34, 62, no. 13, repro.

1961

Fosca, François. Renoir, His Life and Work. London, 1961:41, 46, 47.

1962

Gaunt, William. Renoir. Greenwich, CT, [1962]: 13, 16, repro.

1962

Renoir, Jean. Renoir, My Father-. Boston and Toronto, 1962:168.

1963

Gimpel, René. Journal d'un collectionneur, marchand de tableaux. Paris, 1963: 180.

1963

Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1963 (reprinted 1964 in French, German, and Spanish): 324, repro.

1965

Cooke, H. Lester. Galeria Nacional de Washington. Translated by Maria Teresa de la Cruz. Madrid, 1965: 340, repro.

1965

Lambourne, Nigel. Renoir: paintings, drawings, lithographs and echings. London, 1965: repro. 8.

1965

Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 111.

1966

Gimpel, René. Diary of an Art Dealer. Translated by John Rosenberg. New York, 1966: 155.

1967

Feist, Peter H. Auguste Renoir. Leipzig, 1967: 33-34, 62, no. 13, repro.

1967

Walton, P.H. Renoir. New York, 1967:24, no. 21, repro.

1968

European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1968: 99, repro.

1970

Renior. Paris, Réalités Hachette, 1970: 123, 234, 250, repro. 111.

1971

Daulte, François. Auguste Renoir, catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint. Vol.I: Figures 1860-1890. Lausanne, 1971: 26, 37, no. 110, repro.

1971

Daulte, François. August Renoir. Milan, 1971:26, 30, 86.

1971

Gaunt, William. Renoir. 2nd ed. London and New York:1971:9, 12, color repro pl. 11.

1972

Fezzi, Elda. L'opera completa di Renoir nel period impressionista. Milan, 1972: 83, 94, no. 126, plate 15.

1973

Rewald, John. The History of Impressionism. New York, 1973: 316, 318, 319, repro.

1974

Adhémar, H. and Gache, S. "L'Exposition de 1874 chez Nadar (rétrospective documentaire)." In Distel, Anne, et. al. Centenaire de l'Impresionnisme. Exh. cat.. Grand Palais, Paris, 1974: 257, 258, 259, 266, 269.

1974

Rewald, John. "Jours sombres de l'impressionnisme." L'Oeil no. 223 (February 1974): 18, repro.

1975

European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 292, repro.

1975

Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1975: 466, repro. 681

1975

Wheldon, Keith. Renoir and his art. London and New York, 1975:63, repro.

1976

Benezit, Emmanuel. Dictionnaire critique et documentaire des peintres, sculpteurs, dessinaterus et graveurs de tour les temps et tous les pays. 10 vols. Paris, 1976: 8:691.

1976

Gaunt, William. Renoir. Oxford, 1976: repro. 15.

1978

De Poli, Franco. Renoir. Munich, 1978:92, repro.

1980

Kelder, Diane. The Great Book of French Impressionism. New York, 1980: 438, repro.

1980

Monneret, Sophie (intro). Guida alla pittura di Renoir. Milan, 1980: no.119.

1982

Gaunt, William. Renoir. 3rd. ed. Oxford, 1982: repro. 15

1984

Stuckey, Charles F. "Degas as an Artist: Revised and Still Unfinished." In Guillard, Maurice, ed. Degas form and space. Paris, 1984: 33, repro. 32.

1984

Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 462, no. 670, color repro.

1984

White, Barbara Ehrlich. Renoir: His Life, Art, and Letters. New York, 1984: 20-51, 64, 91, 230, repro. 53.

1985

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: 196-197, repro.

1985

European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 335, repro.

1985

Fezzi, Elda. L'opera complete di Renoir nel period impressionista 1869-1883. Paris, 1985:no.121, repro.

1986

Bernard, Bruce. The Impressionist Revolution. London, 1986:64, repro.

1989

Distel, Anne. "Charles Deudon (1832-1914): collectionneur." Revue de l'Art no. 86 (1989):64, repro.

1989

Distel, Anne. Les collectionneurs des impressionnistes. Amateurs et marchands. Paris, 1989:157, repro.

1991

Buisson, Sylvie. Danse et Danseurs en peinture. Paris, 1991:128, repro.

1991

Coman, Florence E. Joie de vivre: French Paintings from the National Gallery of Art. Washington, 1991: no. 1, repro.

1996

Adriani, Götz. Renoir. Exh. cat., Kunsthalle Tübingen, 1996: 116, repro.

1996

Berson, Ruth, ed. The New Painting: Impressionism 1874-1886 -- Documentation. 2 vols. San Francisco, 1996: 1:11, 14, 18-19, 23, 25, 27, 29, 34, 37, 40; 2:12, repro.

1996

Roos, Jane Mayo. Early Impressionism and the French State (1866-1874). Cambridge, 1996: 208, fig. 151.

1996

Sagner-Düchting, Karin. Renoir: Paris and the Belle Epoque. Munich, 1996:78, repro. 79.

1997

Bailey, Colin B. Renoir's Portraits: Impressions of an age.Yale University Press New Haven and London, in association with National Gallery of Canada Ottawa, 1997: 17, 25, 31, 314 n.8.

1997

Kelder, Diane. The Great Book of French Impressionism, 1997, no. 216, repro.

1998

The Courtauld Collection: Masterpieces of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, Exh. cat., Art Gallery of Ontario, 1998: 68, repro.

2001

Tucker, Paul Hayes. "Renoir in the 1870s and '80s: Modernity, Tradition, and Individuality. In Renoir from outsider to old master, 1870-1892. Exh. cat., Tokyo, 2001: 219, repro.

2012

Lilley, Ed. “A Rediscovered English Review of the 1874 Impressionist Exhibition.” Burlington Magazine 154, no. 1317 (December 2012): 844, 845, color fig. 26.

Related Content