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Romaine Lacaux — Pierre-Auguste Renoir

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Written by: Seda BozkurtResearcher · Old Master Paintings
Old Master Paintings · Catalogue no. 1684
Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Romaine Lacaux

StatusReference work · Not for sale
Held byCleveland Museum of Art
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This painting may be Renoir's earliest signed canvas. Its sensitive display of color and light communicates an ideal of delicate, youthful beauty. The luminous tones of the background drapery and of the child's white blouse result from the artist's careful observation of reflected light and color on translucent materials. The delicate nuances of color, particularly in the young girl's face, reveal Renoir's previous training as a decorator of porcelain. He painted this portrait, commissioned by the vacationing Lacaux family, during his stay at an artist's colony in the village of Barbizon, near Paris.

Artist / MakerPierre-Auguste Renoir
Date1864
Culture / OriginFrance, 19th century
Mediumoil on fabric
DimensionsFramed: 106.7 x 89.2 x 8.9 cm (42 x 35 1/8 x 3 1/2 in.); Unframed: 81.3 x 65 cm (32 x 25 9/16 in.)
DepartmentModern European Painting and Sculpture
TypePainting
About the Artist

Renoir's parents, a tailor and a dressmaker, moved their family to Paris in 1844. At age thirteen Renoir apprenticed with the porcelain decorators Levy Frères & Cie. He earned money by painting fans, blinds, and murals for cafés. In 1860 he registered to copy Old Master paintings in the Louvre and, the following year, entered the studio of Charles Gleyre (1806-1874), where he met Frédéric Bazille (1841-1870), Monet (q.v.), and Sisley (q.v.). In 1862 he was also accepted at the… Full biography →

Provenance & Source

Image & data: Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0 / Public Domain.

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