National Gallery of Art

Overview

While his figure paintings are better known, Renoir's landscapes resonate with a vigor and freshness of vision central to the development of impressionism, most apparent here in his transcription of the effects of sunlight. Midday sun suffuses the panorama, its intensity heightening the artist's palette and suppressing incidental detail to clarify the crowded scene.

Edmond Renoir, the artist's younger brother and a novice journalist in 1872, later recounted the inception of this painting in an interview. He told how Renoir secured an owner's permission to occupy an upper floor of a café for one day to depict the view of the famous bridge. Edmond periodically delayed passersby long enough for the artist to record their appearance. Renoir even noted Edmond's presence, walking stick in hand and straw boater on his head, in two locations.

If, as Edmond indicated, Pont Neuf, Paris was painted during a single day, it was preceded by careful preparations, possibly including preliminary delineation of the permanent architectural features. The painting seems more richly nuanced and the subject laden with broader meaning than Edmond's anecdote would suggest. Painted in the wake of the Franco–Prussian War and ensuing civil strife that had devastated France in 1870 and 1871, Renoir's 1872 image shows a representative sampling of French citizenry crossing the oldest bridge in Paris, the intact heart of the recovering country.

Inscription

lower left: A. Renoir. 72.

Provenance

The artist; (his sale, Paris, 24 March 1875, no. 42); purchased by (Durand-Ruel, Paris); sold to Nicolas Auguste Hazard [1834-1913], Paris; (Hazard sale, Paris, 1 December 1919, no. 206); purchased by Georges Bernheim, Paris; sold 1921 to Ralph M. Coe, Cleveland; on joint account with (Carroll Carstairs, New York) and (M. Knoedler & Co., New York) by 1935;[1] from whom acquired 1936 by Marshall Field [1893-1956], New York;[2] Dr. and Mrs. [née Barbara Field] Robert Boggs, New York, NY, USA; Mr. and Mrs. Peter Benziger [Mrs. Benziger was previously Mrs. Boggs]. (M. Knoedler and Co., London, New York, and Paris); sold December 1966 to Ailsa Mellon Bruce [1901-1969]; bequest 1970 to NGA.

Exhibition History

1920

Tableaux, Pastels, Dessins par Renoir, Galeries Durand-Ruel, Paris, November-December 1920, no. 15.

1922

Loan to display with permanent collection, Cleveland Museum of Art, 1922-1924.

1924

Exhibition of Paintings: Edouard Manet, Pierre Renoir, Berthe Morisot, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, 1924, no. 8.

1924

Loan to display with permanent collection, Cleveland Museum of Art, 1924-1925.

1925

Exhibition of Masterpieces by Renoir for the benefit of Hope Farm, Durand-Ruel Galleries, New York, 1935, no. 25.

1929

Exhibition of French Painting of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 1929, no. 76, repro.

1931

Loan to display with permanent collection, Cleveland Museum of Art, 1931-1933.

1933

Manet and Renoir, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1933, unnumbered checklist.

1935

French Impressionists and After, Carroll Carstairs, New York, December 1935 - January 1936, no. 2.

1935

Masterpieces by Renoir, Durand-Ruel Galleries, New York, 1935, no. 25.

1937

Renoir, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1937, no. 2, repro.

1938

Honderd Jaar Fransche Kunst, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, 1938, no. 201.

1940

Masterpieces of Art. European & American Paintings 1500-1900, New York World's Fair, 1940, no. 335, repro.

1941

Renoir: Centennial Loan Exhibition, Duveen Galleries, New York, 1941, no. 3, repro.

1943

From Paris to the Sea: Down the River Seine, Wildenstein Galleries, New York, 1943, no. 10.

1944

Paris: A Loan Exhibition, Coordinating Council of French Relief Societies, New York, December 1943 - Janaury 1944, no. 14, repro.

1954

Benefit for the North Shore Hospital, Country Art Gallery, Westbury, Long Island, 1954, unnumbered checklist.

1958

Loan Exhibition: Renoir for the Benefit of the Citizens' Committee for Children of New York City, Inc., Wildenstein, New York, 1958, no.4, repro.

1959

Masterpieces of Impressionist and Post Impresionst Painting, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1959, unnumbered cat., repro.

1966

Impressionist Treasures from Private Collections in New York, M. Knoedler & Co., New York, 1966, no. 29, repro.

1982

Manet and Modern Paris, National Gallery of Art, 1982-1983, no. 5, repro.

1985

Renoir, Hayward Gallery, London; Grand Palais, Paris; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1985-1986, no. 20 (French cat.), no. 21 (English cat.), repro.

1986

Capolavori Impressionisti dei Musei Americani, Museo e Gallerie Nazionali di Capodimonte, Naples; Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan, 1986-1987, no. 39, repro.

1986

Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Art, Washington, State Hermitage Museum, Leningrad; State Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow, 1986, no. 27, repro.

1990

Französische Impressionisten und ihre Wegbereiter aus der National Gallery of Art, Washington und dem Cincinnati Art Museum, Neue Pinakothek, Munich, 1990, no. 47, repro.

1999

Around Impressionism: French Paintings from the National Gallery of Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1999, no cat.

1999

Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Art, Washington, Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art; Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, 1999, no. 32, repro.

2007

Renoir Landscapes 1865-1883, The National Gallery, London; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2007-2008, no. 12, repro., as The Pont Neuf (shown only in Philadelphia).

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. 42, repro.

Bibliography

1910

Duret, Théodore. Manet and the French Impressionists. Translated by J.E. Crawford Flitch. London and Philadelphia, 1910:164.

1925

Vollard, Ambroise. Renoir: An intimate Record. New York, 1925: 77, 237.

1929

Meier-Graefe, Julius. Renoir. Leipzig, 1929: repro. p. 48, no. 33.

1935

Barnes, Albert C. and Violette de Mazia. The Art of Renoir. New York, 1935: 50n-52, 200n, 383, 444, no. 26.

1935

"Works by Renoir." The Connoisseur 95 (May 1935): 305-306, repro.

1936

"Art Throughout America: New York: A Famous Renoir Sold." Art News 35 (28 November 1936): 17.

1937

McBride, Henry. "The Renoirs in America: In Appreciation of the Metropolitan Museum's Exhibition," Art News 35, no. 31 (1 May 1937): 60.

1938

Florisoone, Michel. Renior. Paris, 1938: repro. 111.

1939

Venturi, Lionello. Les archives de l'impressionnisme. 2 vols. Paris and New York, 1939: I:32, II:334-338.

1940

Wilenski, R.H. Modern French Painters. New York, 1940:339.

1941

Frankfurter, Alfred M. "Celebrating Renoir's Centenary: A Bright Galaxy." Art News 40, no. 15 (15 November 1940): 16, repro.

1943

"Artists Who Painted "Down the River Seine'." Art News 17, no. 9 (1 February 1943): 6, repro.

1944

Drucker, Michel. Renoir. New York, 1944: 150, 151,183.

1944

Frost, Rosamund. Pierre Auguste Renoir. New York, 1944: 8, 42, repro.

1945

Rewald, John. "Auguste Renoir and His Brother." Gazette des Beaux-Arts VI, vol. 26, no. 3 (March 1945): 180-182, repro.

1946

Rewald, John. The History of Impressionism. New York, 1946: 235 repro, 289.

1950

Pach, Walter. Pierre Auguste Renoir. New York, 1950:40, repro.

1952

Fox, Milton S. Renoir. New York, 1952: 3, repro pl. 5

1952

Renoir, Jean. "My Memories of Renoir." Life (19 May 1952): 92-93.

1953

Fox, Milton S. (text). Renoir. New York, 1953: repro plate 12.

1954

Rouart, Denis. Renoir. Geneva, 1954: 28, repro.

1958

Fox, Milton S. "Renoir in his Diversity." Arts XXXII, no. 7 (April 1958): 30.

1963

Gimpel, René. Journal d'un collectionneur, marchand de tableaux. Paris, 1963: 235.

1963

Neumann, Jaromir. Auguste Renoir. Prague, 1963:32, repro.

1967

Feist, Peter H. Auguste Renoir. Leipzig, 1967: 24, 39, 61, no. 10.

1967

Pool, Phoebe. Impressionism. London, 1967:107, repro.

1967

Walton, P.H. Renoir. New York, 1967: 22, repro. 13

1968

Bodelsen, Merete. "Early Impressionist Sales 1874-94 in the light of some unpublished 'procès-verbaux'." The Burlington Magazine 110 (June 1968): 333, 335.

1969

White, Barbara Ehrlich. "Renoir’s Trip to Italy." The Art Bulletin 51 (December 1969): 334-335.

1970

Renior. Paris, Réalités Hachette, 1970: 104, repro.

1972

Fezzi, Elda. L'opera completa di Renoir nel period impressionista. Milan, 1972: no. 76.

1972

Fox, Milton S. Pierre Auguste Renoir. New York, 1972: 14, repro.

1973

Rewald, John. The History of Impressionism, New York, 1973: 281,354, repro. 280

1975

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

1978

Callen, Anthea. Renoir. London, 1978:47, repro.

1980

Kelder, Diane. The Great Book of French Impressionism. New York, 1980: 130, 438, repro. p. 163.

1980

Monneret, Sophie (intro). Guida alla pittura di Renoir. Milan, 1980:47-48, repro, no. 87.

1980

Thomas, David. Renoir. London, 1980: 7, repro.

1984

A Day in the Country: Impressionism and the French Landscape. Exh. cat. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Art Institute of Chicago, 1984:122.

1984

Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 466, no. 682, color repro.

1984

White, Barbara Ehrlich. Renoir: His Life, Art, and Letters. New York, 1984: 40-44, 54-55, 285, repro.

1985

European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 342, repro.

1985

Rouart, Denis. Renoir. Rev. ed., New York, 1985: 24, repro.

1989

Distel, Anne. Les collectionneurs des impressionnistes. Amateurs et marchands. Paris, 1989:175, repro.

1990

Französische Impressionisten und ihre Wegbereiter aus der National Gallery of Art, Washington und dem Cincinnati Art Museum, Exh. cat. Neue Pinakothek, Munich, 1990: no. 47, repro.

1991

Coman, Florence E. Joie de Vivre: French Paintings from the National Gallery of Art. Washington, 1991: no. 20, repro.

1991

Kopper, Philip. America's National Gallery of Art: A Gift to the Nation. New York, 1991: 260, color repro.

1992

National Gallery of Art, Washington. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 190, repro.

1995

Boime, Albert. Art and the French Commune. Princeton, 1995: 117-119, 121, repro.

1995

Brettell, Richard R. Impressionist Paintings Drawings and Sculpture from the Wendy and Emery Reves Collection. Dallas, 1995:47, repro.

1995

Distel, Anne. Renoir A Sensuous Vision. New York, 1995:43, repro.

1996

Lurie, Patty. Guide to Impressionist Paris. Manchester, New Hampshire, 1996: 25-26.

1996

Rathbone, Eliza E., et al. Impressionists on the Seine: A Celebration of Renoir's Luncheon of the Boating Party. Washington, 1996: 24, 54 n. 17, repro. 59.

1996

Sagner-Düchting, Karin. Renoir: Paris and the Belle Epoque. Munich, 1996:repro. 28-29.

1997

Kelder, Diane. The Great Book of French Impressionism, 1997, no. 140, repro.

1999

Wood, Paul (editor). The Challenge of the Avant-Garde. New Haven, 1999: 120-121, repro.

2000

Thomson, Belinda. Impressionism: Origins, Practice, Reception. London, 2000: 28, repro.

2006

Søndergaard, Sidsel Maria. Women in Impressionism: From Mythical Feminine to Modern Woman. Exh. cat. Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen. Milan, 2006: 178, 179 fig. 147.

2007

Dauberville, Guy-Patrice, and Michel Dauberville. Renoir: Catalogue raisonné des tableaux, pastels, dessins et aquarelles. 5 vols. Paris, 2007: 1:no. 118.

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