Information on Pierre Auguste Renoir French, 1841–1919 Lemon and Tea Cup (Cagnes), 1912 Oil on canvas, 9 x 13 3/4 in. Gift of Mrs. Morgan Chaney, by exchange, Gift of Regina C. Evans, and Museum purchase 2010.1

Gabrielle in Oriental Costume, 1913 Oil on canvas, 10 3/4 x 8 7/8 in. Bequest of Marion Koogler McNay 1950.120

Subject Matter Lemon and Tea Cup (Cagnes) is an informal study of yellow lemons arranged on a red tablecloth with a white teacup. The floral motif of the china repeats the color of the tablecloth, which has streaks of dark blue, green, and yellow. The knife is set in a diagonal position that is repeated by the spoon and cup handle.

Renoir painted and sold numerous small, informal paintings to ”let my brain rest” when he could not concentrate on prolonged work. He painted still life studies of fruit and flowers all through his career, preferring fruits and vegetables because of their roundness. In his later years, at the urging of his dealer to support his family, these studies were especially numerous and tended to devalue his reputation.

Gabrielle in Oriental Costume is one of a series of canvases done between 1907 and 1913 showing Gabrielle seated as a placid, unself-conscious young woman with an open blouse of filmy fabric framing her breasts. She calmly gazes at the viewer, unaware of her sensuous beauty. The all-over mottled pattern of small blurred areas of color was a distinctive feature of Renoir’s late works.

As a 15-year-old peasant girl, Gabrielle Renard, a distant relation to Madame Renoir, came to the household in 1894 as a servant. She remained almost 20 years, eventually managing the household and posing for Renoir more than any other model, leaving in 1914 shortly before her marriage to American painter Conrad Slade. Gabrielle appeared in numerous pictures fully clothed, with Renoir’s son, Jean. She first posed nude at age 20, when Mme. Renoir suggested her as a substitute for an ill model. Gabrielle fulfilled most perfectly Renoir’s criterion for a model: that her skin should “take the light.”

About the Artist Born in France of working class parents, Renoir was apprenticed at age 13 in a porcelain factory painting ornamental designs in an 18th-century style. In 1862, he was accepted at the École des Beaux-Arts. He also entered the studio of Gleyre where he met Monet, Sisley, and other artists; they often traveled to the Fontainebleau Forest where they practiced plein-air painting and acquainted themselves with painters of the Barbizon school.

Renoir exhibited in both the first and second Impressionist exhibitions (1874,1876), but on several occasions he forsook the group’s shows for the official Salon. He was soon able to make money painting portraits of wealthy patrons and their children; he also executed scenes capturing carefree Parisian crowds at leisure. Poorest of all the Impressionist painters, Renoir’s paintings were full of the more joyful aspects of life. A solo exhibition by Durand-Ruel in 1883 established his position and freed him from financial worries.

theMcNay Pierre Auguste Renoir Lemon and Tea Cup, 1912 Gabrielle in Oriental Costume, 1913

About the Artist continued Dissatisfied with Impressionism, Renoir traveled to Algeria and Italy. Inspired by Renaissance painters, especially Titian, Raphael, and Rubens, he began to change his work, becoming interested in rendering volumes and space by use of color and with nude figures. He began painting indoors, abandoning the Impressionist style and favoring shades of red in his palette. He always used a model.

A bachelor well into his 40s, Renoir married his long time mistress and model, Aline Charigot, in 1890 and, thereafter, was a devoted family man. Suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, he settled in the south of France after 1911. He was severely crippled and confined to a wheelchair. Renoir had a charming and sociable personality and his joie de vivre never left him. While he took pleasure in companionship with other artists (notably Monet and Cézanne), he was probably the most non-intellectual and anti-theoretical artist of his generation. He painted for sheer pleasure and scarcely ever missed a day painting.

Quote from the Artist Renoir said he wanted to paint figures ”like beautiful fruit.”

Strategies for Tours Primary Grades (ages 6–8): [Use Lemon and Teacup (Cagnes) as an example of a still life.] How is this different from a portrait or a landscape? [Introduce term still life.] Upper Elementary (ages 9–11): What do you see? Notice how the paint was applied. How fast did the artist apply the paint? Adolescents and Adults: [Notice Renoir’s use of complementary colors, line, space, and balance. Discuss his life and philosophy.] Does his painting of Gabrielle succeed in looking like “beautiful fruit”?

Sources Worth Consulting Adriani, Götz. Renoir. Cologne: Dumont, 1999. Bailey, Colin B., et al. Renoir’s Portraits: Impressions of an Age. London: Yale University Press, 1997. Barnes, Albert C. and de Mazia, Violette. The Art of Renoir. Merion, Pennsylvania: Barnes Foundation Press, 1935. Kern, Steve. A Passion for Renoir: Sterling and Francine Clark Collection, 1915–1951. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1996. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Renoir. New York: Abrams, Inc. in association with the Arts Council of Great Britain, 1985.

Prepared by Mary Boone L. Ervin Date 9/16/93 theMcNay