Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 'A Bather', probably 1885-90

A Bather

Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Not on display

About the work

Overview

Before the 1880s Renoir painted very few nudes. But the artist’s journey to Italy in 1881, where he was absorbed by Roman sculpture and Renaissance painting, rekindled his interest and he began painting them far more often. This small and intimate picture is probably one of a series made during the second half of the 1880s. Renoir has added some recognisably contemporary touches, such as the striped fabric of the towel or the discarded dress that the model is sitting on, and the fact that her hair, which she is fixing (or unfixing), is in one of the fashions of the time. But by showing the figure seated on a rock by a pool or a stream – suggested by the flash of bright blue on the left-hand side of the picture – rather than a contemporary interior, he was reflecting the longer tradition of classical nudes.

In-depth

Before the 1880s Renoir painted very few nudes. The National Gallery owns a rare exception, A Nymph by a Stream, which depicts his lover at the time, Lise Tréhot, as one of the mythical nymphs or naiads described in classical art and literature and also eighteenth-century French painting. But the artist’s journey to Italy in 1881, where he was absorbed by Roman sculpture and Renaissance painting, rekindled his interest in depicting nudes in a way that echoed the classical tradition. He began painting them far more often and this intimate picture (which is only about 39 by 29 cm) is probably one of a series made during the second half of the 1880s.

His attraction to the nude coincided with that of Edgar Degas, his friend and fellow artist. Degas had explored the form for many years and in 1886, in the last Impressionist Exhibition (in which Renoir also exhibited), he showed several new pastels depicting naked or partially clothed women washing themselves.

The tradition of depicting the subjects unaware that they are being watched went back to ancient Greek myths, such as that of Diana and Actaeon and to biblical stories of Bathsheba and Susannah. But Degas and Renoir differed in their approaches to it. Degas masked the link to earlier traditions by focusing on depicting ordinary women in contemporary interior settings, sometimes viewed from a strikingly unusual angle. His After the Bath, Woman drying Herself was probably made a few years later, but it is typical of the sort of poses he preferred. It is also very similar to the pose Renoir has chosen in this painting (and one which is reminiscent of other Degas pastels). He has also added some recognisably contemporary touches, such as the striped fabric of the towel or discarded dress that the model is sitting on, and the fact that her hair, which she is fixing (or unfixing), is in one of the fashions of the time. The depiction of hair under her arm is something which would have been seen only rarely, if at all, in such paintings before the mid-nineteenth century. But by showing the figure seated on a rock by a pool or a stream – suggested here by the flash of bright blue on the left-hand side of the picture – rather than a contemporary interior, Renoir is reflecting the longer tradition of classical nudes much more explicitly.

Renoir was also fascinated by how best to capture the sensuousness of his subjects. He wrote: ‘I look at the nude; there are myriads of tiny tints in flesh. I must find the ones that will make the flesh on my canvas live and quiver.’ In this painting, he sets the predominantly pink flesh tones against the greens of the background, which makes them appear all the more vibrant – these are complementary colours, which seem more intense when placed together. The sense of quiver or vibrancy he sought comes perhaps from the blurring effect of his brushwork, which suggests rather than precisely delineates the model and her surroundings.

Key facts

Details

Full title: A Bather
Artist: Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Artist dates: 1841 - 1919
Date made: probably 1885-90
Medium and support: oil on canvas
Dimensions: 39.4 × 29.2 cm
Inscription summary: Signed
Acquisition credit: Presented by Sir Antony and Lady Hornby, 1961
Inventory number: NG6319
Location: Not on display
Collection: Main Collection

Provenance

Probably the picture which was on the London art market in 1934 (exhibited: Reid and Lefèvre, June, No. 27) as from the collection of Franz Georg, Reims. (Said to have been in Franz Georg sale, Paris, 30 May, 1910, lot 81). Later in the Chester Beatty collection, with part of which on loan to the Gallery, 1955/61. Presented by Sir Antony and Lady Homby, 1961.

Additional information

Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Martin Davies, with additions and some revisions by Cecil Gould, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: French School: Early 19th Century, Impressionists, Post-Impressionists, etc.’, London 1970; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.

Exhibition history

2011

Gainsborough's 'Diana and Actaeon' Revealed

Gainsborough's House

11 June 2011 - 17 September 2011
2014

Renoir in Britain

The Lightbox

8 February 2014 - 20 April 2014
2023

Masterpieces from the National Gallery

Shanghai Art Museum East

17 January 2023 - 7 May 2023

National Museum of Korea

2 June 2023 - 9 October 2023

Hong Kong Palace Museum

22 November 2023 - 11 April 2024

Chimei Museum

2 May 2024 - 1 September 2024

Bibliography

1962

The National Gallery, The National Gallery: January 1960 - May 1962, London 1962
1970

Davies, Martin, and Cecil Gould, National Gallery Catalogues: French School: Early 19th Century, Impressionists, Post-Impressionists etc., London 1970
1971

F. Daulte, Auguste Renoir: Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint, I: Figures 1860-1890, Lausanne 1971
1980

E.N. Van Liere, 'Solutions and Dissolutions: The Bather in Nineteenth-Century French Painting', Arts Magazine, LIV, 1980, pp. 104-14
1994

J. House, Renoir: Master Impressionist (exh. cat. Queensland Art Gallery, 30 July - 11 September 1994; National Gallery of Victoria, 18 September - 30 October 1994), Sydney 1994
2001

C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
2002

M. Goldin, L'impressionismo e l'età di Van Gogh (exh. cat. Casa dei Carraresi, 9 November - 30 March 2003), Treviso 2002
2007

A. Dumas, Inspiring Impressionism: The Impressionists and the Art of the Past (exh. cat. High Museum of Art, 16 October 2007 - 13 January 2008; Denver Art Museum, 23 February - 25 May 2008; Seattle Art Museum, 19 June - 21 September 2008), Atlanta 2007

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

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You've viewed 6 of 10 works

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 'A Bather', probably 1885-90

About the work

Overview

In-depth

Key facts

Details

Provenance

Additional information

Source

Exhibition history

Bibliography

About this record

Images

More works by Pierre-Auguste Renoir