Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 'Head of a Girl', 1898

We see a young girl from the side. She looks gentle and serene. Her peachy skin glows with a soft flush. Her cheeks are round and soft. The girl’s dark hair sweeps up into a loose bun on top of her head. Some auburn wisps have escaped and fall onto her neck and temple. She wears a high-necked dress or blouse with bold silver and black stripes. Behind her, Renoir painted burnt yellows and greens around the head. Pink and lively blue strokes fill other areas.

The technique is bold and energetic. Renoir built up the hair using short strokes of unmixed colour. He used many shades, from soft rose to warm chestnut. He suggested an eyebrow with just one touch of grey. Some areas look more finished than others. On the right the canvas shows through. The loose, thick brushstrokes in the background make it feel like a spontaneous sketch.

Renoir trained with Charles Gleyre, through whom he met Claude Monet, Alfred Sisley and Frédéric Bazille. Together with Edgar Degas, Camille Pissarro, Berthe Morisot and Mary Cassatt, they organised the first Impressionist Exhibition. Although Renoir ceased to exhibit with the Impressionists after 1877, he shared their interest in new techniques. Like them he used bright, unmixed colours quickly and freely on the canvas, creating an unfinished look.

Renoir painted many portraits, mostly of women. But we don’t know who this young model was. Many women posed for Renoir during his career. They included professional models, acquaintances, actresses, and members of his family and household. People sometimes call this painting ‘Head of a Little Servant Girl’. But in the records of its first owner, Paul Durand-Ruel, it appears more simply as ‘Bust of a Woman, 1898’.

When Renoir painted this work, he was battling severe pain. In 1888, at age 47, he developed progressive rheumatoid arthritis. It affected his fingers, sometimes causing temporary paralysis. Yet he kept painting almost every day.

The art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel bought Head of a Girl directly from Renoir in 1901. Durand-Ruel dedicated his life to supporting, collecting and promoting Impressionist art. He became a close friend of Renoir, who nicknamed him the Impressionists’ ‘missionary’. The painting later belonged to British novelist Sir Hugh Walpole (1884–1941). He built a fine art collection that included works by Cezanne, Monet, Picasso, Gauguin and Rodin. When he died, many of these works, including Head of a Girl, went to major British public collections, such as the Tate and the Fitzwilliam Museum.