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Lot Essay
This work will be included in the forthcoming Auguste Renoir Digital Catalogue Raisonné, currently being prepared under the sponsorship of the Wildenstein Plattner Institute, Inc.
“Never did he [Renoir] seem to have experienced so much joy as when watching the young child learning through play, filled with light and milk, his rounded contours, his enthusiasms and laughter” -Claude Roger-Marx, 1937
Renoir’s youngest son Claude was born on 4 August 1901, when the artist was already sixty years old. Having another child at this stage of his life brought him great joy and inspiration, and he deeply cherished his third son, openly doting upon the boy and devoting hours of labor to capturing his cherubic likeness. He looked upon his infant son’s health and growth as an affirmation of youth and life, for Renoir was now suffering from the ailments of old age.
The family lovingly nicknamed their youngest son Cloclo, which later became Coco. Almost immediately, he became Renoir’s favorite model, replacing his elder brother Jean. As Jean Renoir recalled: "It was while we were living in the rue Caulaincourt that my father had me pose for him most often. A few years later my brother Claude, who was seven years younger than I, was to take my place in the studio. Coco certainly proved one of the most prolific inspirations my father ever had" (Renoir, My Father, New York, 1958, p. 364).
In the present work, Claude is captured while painting at an easel, seemingly unaware of his viewers. The finished painting is an intimate work which instantly communicates Renoir’s fatherly affections towards his son. The rosy flush of Coco’s cheek is emphasized by the similar tone of his crimson lips and background, thus creating a wonderful overall sense of the child’s youthful vibrancy.
“Never did he [Renoir] seem to have experienced so much joy as when watching the young child learning through play, filled with light and milk, his rounded contours, his enthusiasms and laughter” -Claude Roger-Marx, 1937
Renoir’s youngest son Claude was born on 4 August 1901, when the artist was already sixty years old. Having another child at this stage of his life brought him great joy and inspiration, and he deeply cherished his third son, openly doting upon the boy and devoting hours of labor to capturing his cherubic likeness. He looked upon his infant son’s health and growth as an affirmation of youth and life, for Renoir was now suffering from the ailments of old age.
The family lovingly nicknamed their youngest son Cloclo, which later became Coco. Almost immediately, he became Renoir’s favorite model, replacing his elder brother Jean. As Jean Renoir recalled: "It was while we were living in the rue Caulaincourt that my father had me pose for him most often. A few years later my brother Claude, who was seven years younger than I, was to take my place in the studio. Coco certainly proved one of the most prolific inspirations my father ever had" (Renoir, My Father, New York, 1958, p. 364).
In the present work, Claude is captured while painting at an easel, seemingly unaware of his viewers. The finished painting is an intimate work which instantly communicates Renoir’s fatherly affections towards his son. The rosy flush of Coco’s cheek is emphasized by the similar tone of his crimson lips and background, thus creating a wonderful overall sense of the child’s youthful vibrancy.