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Impressionist & Modern Art
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3204* PIERRE AUGUSTE RENOIR(Limoges 1841 - 1919 Cagnes-sur-Mer)
Pré, arbres et femmes. Circa 1899.
Oil on canvas.
With signature stamp lower left: Renoir.
23 x 41 cm.
The authenticity of the work has been
confirmed by the Wildenstein Institute,
Paris, 7 December 2004.
Provenance:
- Estate of the artist.
- Durand-Ruel, Paris.
- Acquiered fromDurand-Ruel 1959,
since then private collection.
Literature:
- Bernheim-Jeune (ed.): L' Atelier de Re-
noir, Paris 1931, vol. I, no. 178, pl. 58.
- Dauberville, Guy-Patrice/Dauberville,
Michel: Renoir. Catalogue Raisonné des
tableaux, pastels, dessins et aquarelles,
Bernheim-Jeune, Paris 2010, vol. III, no.
1847, p. 96 (with ill.).
Badly afflicted by rheumatic pains, which
Renoir had suffered from since the 1880s,
in 1898/99 he stayed mostly in the South
of France. The warm climate eased the
pain, and the landscape of the various lo-
calities such as Cagnes, Grasse and Aix-les
Bains inspired him to paint.
The present work shows a landscape in
the South of France, a subject often cho-
sen by the artist at this time. The painting
is dominated by luscious green tones. A
woman stands in a clearing next to the
tree in the centre, probably waiting for the
woman entering at the left of the picture.
The figures are situated harmoniously
in the landscape, almost flowing into the
surrounding scene, as Renoir always does,
since for him the interplay of man and
nature are very important.
Although Renoir’s style changed over the
years, the Impressionist was ever present
in him. We can see for example the use of
colour to depict the shadow and light. De-
spite Renoir’s illness, neither his painting
nor his state of mind became heavier or
more austere, but both were always ac-
companied by a cheerful lightness, which
he retained until his death.
CHF 220 000 / 280 000
(€ 203 700 / 259 260)