Claude Monet

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1872

Shown from the waist up, a man sits facing us on the far side of a ledge or counter looking down at an open book in this loosely painted, vertical portrait. The man’s pale skin is flushed pink. He leans both forearms onto the ledge so his shoulders hunch forward. His head tips slightly to our left, and he reads with gathered, dark brows. He has a round-tipped nose and full, bushy beard. His black, wavy hair and beard are touched with lighter shades of bronze, especially at the temples. He holds a white pipe to his lips with one hand, and tendrils of smoke curl from the burning embers. He wears a black coat, and a slip of white cuff is visible on the hand we see. The other hand is tucked behind the first. The pages of the book are bright white, and the ledge surface is painted with strokes of celery green and ochre yellow. A swirling black form in the lower left corner of the painting is difficult to interpret. The background is painted with loose brushstrokes in shades of sky and cobalt blue and charcoal gray. The artist signed the painting near the lower left corner, “A. Renoir.”
Artist
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Date
1872
Type
Painting
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
65 × 50 cm
Collection
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Licence
Public domain, CC0

Image description

Shown from the waist up, a man sits facing us on the far side of a ledge or counter looking down at an open book in this loosely painted, vertical portrait. The man’s pale skin is flushed pink. He leans both forearms onto the ledge so his shoulders hunch forward. His head tips slightly to our left, and he reads with gathered, dark brows. He has a round-tipped nose and full, bushy beard. His black, wavy hair and beard are touched with lighter shades of bronze, especially at the temples. He holds a white pipe to his lips with one hand, and tendrils of smoke curl from the burning embers. He wears a black coat, and a slip of white cuff is visible on the hand we see. The other hand is tucked behind the first. The pages of the book are bright white, and the ledge surface is painted with strokes of celery green and ochre yellow. A swirling black form in the lower left corner of the painting is difficult to interpret. The background is painted with loose brushstrokes in shades of sky and cobalt blue and charcoal gray. The artist signed the painting near the lower left corner, “A. Renoir.”

Pierre-Auguste Renoir