Description:Created in c. 1912, this print is from the very rare and only state of approximately 30-50 proofs. Printed by Auguste Clot, this work is on Ingres d’Arches laid paper with deckle edges on three sides.
This rare, large-scale impression features a bathing scene reminiscent of classical Greek mythology. It was created in Renoir’s classic impressionistic style with quick, light strokes that illuminate the environment in which these bathers are found. The scale in which this print was done was exceptional; as one of the few Renoir lithographs printed in this size, the work echoes one of his familiar oil paintings titled le Jugement de Pâris (The Judgment of Paris) .
According to Loys Delteil:
The art of etching has its own particular technique and processes, and to put them into practice an artist must be gifted with certain qualities such as lightness and sureness of hand. These were qualities that Renoir possessed, and after having shown them in his principal life’s work, his paintings, he could not fail to show them in his prints, which in fact he did. (ix)
Catalogue Raisonné & COA:
It is fully documented and referenced in the below catalogue raisonnés and texts (copies will be enclosed as added documentation with the invoices that will accompany the final sale of the work) :
1. Delteil, Loys. Pierre-Auguste Renoir, l’œuvre grave et lithographié, Catalogue Raisonné, Alan Hyman (ed.) Alan Wofsy Fine Arts: San Francisco, 1999. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 51 on pgs. 110-111.
2. Roger-Marx, Claude. Les Lithographies de Renoir, André Sauret: Monte-Carlo. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 27 on pgs. 78-9.
3. Stella, Joseph G. The Graphic Work of Renoir, Lund Humphries: London. Listed as catalogue raisonné no. 51 and illustrated as plate 51.
About the Framing:
This work is set in a beautiful, Italian Renaissance-inspired gold moulding that gracefully complements this marvelous work. Its intricately carved detailing serves to accent Renoir’s ornate composition, echoing the movement and fluidity of the bathers within this scene. Completed with white, linen-wrapped mats and a matching, gold inner fillet, this work is set behind a Plexiglas® cover; all materials used in framing are archival to ensure lasting quality.
