Description:
woman with dark hair and brown eyes in black and white plaid dress with white collar leaning against patterned upholstery; portrait
Label Text:
Though known best for his depictions of such favored Impressionist scenes as boating parties and dancing couples, Renoir's portraits are among his singular achievements. Georges Rivière's comment that "no other artist has looked so deeply into the sitter's soul nor captured its essence with such economy" is perhaps the best appraisal of Renoir's abilities in this genre.
This portrait is rendered in a small, close-up format, Rapha's head is centered and is thus the focus of the artist. As he investigates her physical features, Rapha looks back intensely, with eyes that are both reflective and engaged. Here, Renoir has abandoned the formal decorum of traditional portraiture to present an image of total involvement and un-self consciousness-consciousness.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=SC+1924.16 |
