Renoir the large bathers 1887

The Bathers of 1887 and Renoir's Anti-Impressionism Author(s): Barbara Ehrlich White Reviewed work(s): Source: The Art Bulletin, Vol. 55, No. 1 (Mar., 1973), pp. 106-126 Published by: College Art Association Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3049067 . Accessed: 04/01/2012 00:02

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The Bathers of 1887 and Renoir's Anti-Impressionism* Barbara Ehrlich White

I Renoir, Bathers, 1887. Philadelphia Museum of Art, Mr. and Mrs. Carroll S. Tyson Collection (photo: Philadelphia Museum)

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) is well-known as the Parisian painter of such radiant images as the Moulin de la Galette of 1876, the Luncheon of the Boating Party of 1881, and the Reclining Bathers of 1918 (Fig. 32).1 However, there is a

puzzling four-year period within his artistic career from about 1884 through 1887, which is sometimes called his

"anti-Impressionist," "harsh," or "sour" phase. The major

painting of this period2 is the Philadelphia Museum Bathers or "Grandes Baigneuses" (Fig. i). Renoir first exhibited this work in May, 1887, at the fashionable Exposition inter- nationale de peinture et de sculpture at Galerie Georges Petit. In the exhibition catalogue, it was designated "Baigneuses. Essai de peinture d6corative."3

The large oil on canvas (46V" x 67-1") is signed "Renoir.

* A bibliography of frequently cited sources, given in short titles in the footnotes, will be found at the end of this article. 1 I would like to thank the National Endowment for the Humanities for granting me a Younger Humanist Fellowship that supported my research on a full-time basis during the academic year 1969-70. The Samuel H. Kress Foundation and Tufts University Faculty Research Fund also gave me financial assistance for my Renoir studies.

I would also like to express my thanks to the following people who were helpful to me in different ways: H6lkne Adh6mar, Maurice B6rard, Pierre Courthion, Frangois Daulte, Mary M. Davis, Charles Durand-Ruel, Ruth Ehrlich, Julius Held, Irma B. Jaffe, Linda Nochlin, Theodore Reff, Irene Galt Roche, Denis Rouart, Meyer Schapiro,

Theodor Siegl, Jack Spector, and Susan Wexler. Most of all, I would like to thank my husband, Leon S. White, for his encouragement. 2 Other works of 1884-87 include: Mmine. Renoir Nursing Pierre (Fig. 19), Bather Arranging Her Hair (Fig. 20), and the following illustrations in Drucker, Renoir: Umbrellas, pl. 76; Children's Afternoon at Wargemont, pl. 77; Garden Scene, pl. 8o; the Braid, pl. 81; pastel of Washerwoman and Child, pl. 82; Girl, Cow, and Lamb, pl. 83; Girls Playing Battledore and Shuttlecock, pl. 84; pastel of Young Girl with Rose, pl. 85; Julie Manet with Her Cat, pl. 86; and Little Blond Bather, pl. 87. 3 Paris, Galerie Georges Petit, Exposition internationale de peinture et de sculpture: 6?me annee, May 8-June 8, 1887.

RENOIR'S I 887 "BATHERS" I07

87" at the lower left.4 The artist sold the painting to

Jacques-Emile Blanche in 1889 for one thousand gold francs. In 1927 Mr. and Mrs. Carroll S. Tyson, Jr. of Phila-

delphia bought the work for fourteen thousand pounds.5 In

1963 the Tysons bequeathed it to the Philadelphia Museum

of Art.

I It is not known when Renoir began preparatory work on

the Bathers. Renoir literature repeats that it commenced in

1884 and continued throughout the next three years until

the painting was finished in the spring of 1887. Although the 1884 starting date cannot be proven, the nineteen pre-

paratory studies (see Appendix A) suggest that Renoir

struggled for a long time with posture, form, composition, and technique. The studies attest to great experimentation, since they differ from one another in medium (pencil, ink,

watercolor, black, red, and white chalk), in support (can- vas, yellow paper, brown cardboard, white paper), in

dimensions (from small to large), and in the number of

bathers (from one to nine). Though we have not found any definitive preparatory

study for any one of the nudes, the precision of technique of

the three foreground bathers in the painting suggests that

Renoir must have made preparatory drawings equivalent to

them in form. He probably used tracing paper to transfer

his final drawings to the canvas. In other works of the mid-

188o's he used a similar anti-Impressionist technique.6 The two drawings that most approximate the nudes in

the final painting are Figures 4 and 5, which originally formed one large sheet. The fact that the women are slightly

larger than the nudes in the Bathers suggests that at one

point Renoir had expected to paint on a bigger canvas.

Between Figures 4 and 5 and the finished Bathers, Renoir

raised the arms of the central nude, as seen in Figure 12, to

bring that figure closer to the picture plane. A similar

change was made in the right foreground nude who, in the

painting, appears more parallel to the picture plane than in

either Figure 5 or 14. Thus all three foreground nudes are

brought close to the observer. While no reliable data exist of Renoir's procedure, the

widespread belief that the artist used a fresco technique is contradicted by a posteriori observation. Ambroise Vollard

asserts that during his "sour period" Renoir tried to dupli- cate this method in order to achieve a dry effect and to

prevent his colors from darkening.7 Nonetheless, technical

examination of the surface and reverse of the Bathers reveals

that Renoir did not use a white plaster coat such as gesso. Theodor Siegl, Conservator of the Philadelphia Museum, thinks that Renoir put a white lead ground under the oils; that the artist first painted the smooth porcelain flesh of the

nudes, and later added the Impressionist landscape. Mr.

Siegl believes that the landscape was reworked several times - perhaps even a year after the foreground nudes. This would explain the scattered, relatively thick traction cracks in the background on the left side of the painting.8

II The Bathers is aesthetically incongruous because it lacks

unity of style. The left and right sides of the painting differ in form, composition, color, and execution. The left is pre- dominantly linear, classical, and realistic, whereas the right is Impressionist. The two bathers on the left are mature

women, slightly under life-size, who turn towards us; the

right side shows three smaller adolescent girls who turn

away from the viewer. The sculptural bodies of the two bathers at the left are detailed, crisp, and hard: lines abound between the intricate silhouettes as well as in the drapery, and a blue line defines the leaves, branches, and trunks of the central trees (see Fig. i i). In contrast, the body of the

splashing nude in the right foreground is less precise. Her loose hair blurs her face, and her vertical, simple posture ties her to the two girls behind her. These two small nudes and the landscape on the right have an imprecise, soft and

Impressionist form. The left side of the composition dominates the painting,

taking up about two-thirds of the canvas. It is also more intricate in the complex relationship between the contours of the two nudes. There is a clear separation between the

figures and landscape in this shallow space. The organiza- tion on the right is casual, the space is deep and airy, and the figures merge with their surroundings. Although bright light pervades the entire image, the women on the left have an orange skin-color (as if of naples-yellow) that is hotter than the pale, pink flesh tones of the figures at the right. The two left bathers are executed with a smooth, flat, glossy technique lacking visible brushstrokes. The skin of the three nudes on the right is executed Impressionistically with small strokes visible on the bodies and throughout the land-

scape. In many ways, the left side of the painting appears contrived and overworked, while the right side seems

spontaneous. This lack of unity and consistency within the painting

detracts from the harmony of its theme of nudes bathing.

4Nonetheless, the first book on Renoir, J. Meier-Graefe, Auguste Renoir, Munich, 1911, and Paris, 1912, dates the Bathers as 1885, page 103. Numerous critics up to the present time follow Meier-Graefe in errone-

ously dating the Bathers as 1885. 5For equivalent evaluations of prices see F. Duret-Robert, "Un milliard

pour un Renoir?" in Renoir, Collection Genies et Realites, Paris, 1970, 231-66. In personal correspondence of Oct. 2, 1963, Jacques-smile Blanche's nephew, G. Mevil-Blanche, replied to the author's inquiry:

. mon Oncle avait achet' [the Bathers] en 1889 pour le prix de

I,ooo Frs or ...

" In an unpublished letter to Mr. Carrol [sic] Tyson from Offranville, dated Aug. 23, 1927, J. E. Blanche wrote that he was "willing to sell the Baigneuses of Renoir for the sum you mention

(?14.0ooo00, fourteen thousand Pounds)." 6 See my unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, "Renoir's Development," 6o- 62, pls. 33-38.

7 Vollard, Renoir, 140-41. 8 Mr. Siegl was kind enough to examine the painting for me in the winter and summer of 1971. The examination of the reverse of other canvases of 1884-87 likewise showed no use of gesso or plaster: Portrait of Mine. Renoir, ca. 1885, Philadelphia Museum of Art examined by Mr. Siegl; Julie Manet with Her Cat, 1887, Coll. D. Rouart, Paris, exam- ined by M. Denis Rouart; Washerwoman and Child, ca. 1886, Woman with a Fan, i886, and Garden Scene, ca. 1887, Barnes Foundation, Merion, Pa., examined by Violette da Mazia; portrait of Lucie Berard, ca. 1884, Coll. M. Berard, Paris, examined by M. Maurice Berard; Mine. Renoir Nursing Pierre, 1885, Coll. P. Gangnat, examined by M. Philippe Gangnat; Bather Arranging Her Hair, 1885, Clark Art Institute, Williams- town, Mass., examined by the author with Mr. G. L. McManus; Still Life, 1885, Guggenheim Museum, New York, examined by Orrin Riley.

2 Renoir, Study of Nine Nude and Clothed Bathers, pastel. Paris, private collection (photo: Bulloz) 3 Renoir, Study ofFive Nudes and Central Tree, pencil. Hartford, Conn., Wadsworth

Atheneum (courtesy Wadsworth Atheneum)

4 Renoir, Study of Two

Left Nudes, red chalk on

yellow paper. Cambridge, Mass., Fogg Art Museum

(photo: Fogg Art

Museum)

5 Renoir, Study of Three Right Nudes with Part ofFoot ofReclining Left Nude, red and black chalk heightened with white. Present collection unknown

(from Rewald, Drawings, pl. 43)

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6 Renoir, Study of Reclining Nude and Splashing Nude, pencil. Present collection unknown (photo: Wildenstein)

7 Renoir, Study ofReclining Nude and Splashing Nude with Vertical Line

Separating the Two Figures, red chalk heightened with white. London, O'Hana Gallery (photo: O'Hana Gallery)

8 Renoir, Sheet of Studies Related to Reclining Left Nude, pencil. Present collection unknown (photo: Wildenstein)

9 Renoir, Sheet of Studies Related to Drapery of Two Left Nudes, pencil. Present collection unknown (courtesy Durand-Ruel)

z

co 00

00•

Io Renoir, Sheet ofEleven Studiesfrom an Album Page, pencil and pen heightened with

watercolor wash. Paris, Cabinet des Dessins (photo: Archives Photographiques) i

i Renoir, Study ofFlowering Tree over Central Nude, india ink on canvas. New Orleans and New York, Muriel Francis Collection (courtesy Muriel

Francis)

I2 Renoir, Sheet with Studies of Two Nudes including Central Seated Bather with Raised Arms, pencil. Budapest, Museum of Fine Arts (photo: Budapest Museum)

13 Renoir, Study of Right Foreground Nude, pencil. Cambridge, Mass., Fogg Art Museum (photo: Fogg Art

Museum)

14 Renoir, Study ofSplashing Nude, pencil, multicolored chalk, wash on brown cardboard. Chicago, Art Institute (photo: Art Institute)

12 13 14

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H

H

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RENOIR'S 1887 "BATHERS" III

This so-called masterpiece of 1884-87 is, in this writer's

opinion, not a great work of art, but a labored, unsuccessful exercise. It nevertheless deserves serious study because it is the key painting of this puzzling four-year period in Renoir's career.

III The Bathers is Renoir's first group scene of nudes, though he had been a figure painter for more than twenty years. Before

1887, Renoir occasionally depicted single nudes outdoors.

Among these earlier nudes are stylistic prototypes both for the figures at the left and the right.

In certain respects, the two left-foreground bathers recall the large painting of Diana of 1867 (Fig. 15),9 which was submitted to the Salon in that year but rejected. Lise, Renoir's model and mistress of that period, is posed as Diana, goddess of the hunt, with her attributes - bow and

arrows, fur loincloth, and dead deer. Diana's realistic body is a prototype for the glossy naturalism of the breasts, fingers, toes, hair, and skin of the two left bathers. Like

Diana, these two nudes hold artificial poses designed to call attention to their sensual anatomy. The prominent draperies in the Bathers (white at the left and yellow in the center) partially cover their nudity, in a way that recalls the animal fur draped over the abdomen of Diana.

When we compare the Bathers to the smaller Impression- ist painting Nude in the Sunlight (Fig. 16) of 1876, we see other points of similarity. This work was shown at the second Impressionist exhibit at Durand-Ruel's gallery in

1876, where it was condemned as "revolutionary" by hostile critics.10 Here, the resemblance is with the Bathers' right side - the landscape (water, trees, mountain, sky), the two

marginal midground figures (the girl fixing her hair and the

girl swimming), and the head and hair of the right fore-

ground nude. Like the earlier Impressionist painting, these

parts of the Bathers are Impressionist and have a soft and

open form, varied and colorful strokes, and light that is

shimmering and omnipresent. Renoir's Blond Bather (Fig. 17) of 1881 shows a shift away

from Impressionism to a more conservative, classical, and

sculptural conception of the nude. Compared to the Nude in the Sunlight, the Blond Bather is less natural, less spontaneous, and less animated. The painting was executed during Renoir's trip to Italy, after he had written of his admiration for the grandeur and simplicity, wisdom and knowledge of the frescoes by the ancient Pompeian artists (Fig. 18) and

by Raphael (Fig. 24).11 The Blond Bather is a formally posed nude - his young

mistress and later his wife, Aline Charigot.12 She was a

peasant girl from Essoyes with almond-shaped eyes and

reddish-blond hair (cf. Fig. 19). According to contemporary reports, she was quite fat. Ten years later, Berthe Morisot wrote: "Je n'arriverai jamais a vous peindre mon 6tonne- ment devant cette personne si lourde que je ne sais pourquoi, je revais toute semblable a la peinture de son mari."13

The Blond Bather is a prototype for the central nude in the Bathers of 1887 in her red-blond hair, round face, full breasts, and strongly palpable body. Both figures are monumental women who appear heavy, bovine, and lethargic. The Blond Bather has a stable composition that prefigures the

pyramidal arrangement of the two left figures in the Bathers. A final comparison may be made with the Bather Arranging

Her Hair (Fig. 20) of 1885.14 Suzanne Valadon probably posed for this painting as well as for the two dark-haired nudes who face right in the 1887 Bathers. At first glance, we notice the similarity in pose between the 1885 nude and the

wading nude in the middle distance at the right; the wader's

right arm is simply moved to a higher position. More signi- ficantly, however, the Bather Arranging Her Hair is a prototype for the half-reclining girl in the left foreground in the linear treatment of form, the calculated posture, and the fresco- like execution.

First in the nude of 1885 and later in the left foreground bather of 1887, Renoir calls attention to the precise edge of the form - which is actually a painted blue line that defines the contours and creases of the body. Line also describes minute details such as eyelashes, the right ear, and strands of hair. Because of the defined contour, the left bather looks isolated, like a cutout pasted to the picture surface. This

separateness is reinforced by differences in execution and hue between the smooth, one-color nude and her Impres- sionist, multicolored surroundings.

In the Bather Arranging Her Hair we have a precedent for the

posture of the left-hand bather, who seems frozen in an

uncomfortable, contrived position. The upper torso of her

body is twisted so that her form is expanded and splayed out on the surface of the canvas; at the same time, her body appears contracted by the tight constraining edge and the

stiffly posed fingers and toes. The Bather Arranging Her Hair sets a primary example for

the execution of the left-hand figures in the Bathers. In both, Renoir completed the figure before he painted the land-

scape. And in both, the smooth, flatly painted flesh and the lusterless, chalky surface make the nudes look like part of a fresco. The stylistic differences between the focused linear

figure and the blurry Impressionist landscape create a

contradictory effect which isolates the bather from nature. Thus the Bathers develops aspects of Renoir's previous

paintings of single nudes. The picture combines a left side that is realistic (like Diana), classical (like the Blond Bather),

9 Diana is 77"x 51", "A. Renoir. 1867" 1.r. 10 For evidence of the "revolutionary" accusations, see White, "Renoir's Development," 91-99. Nude in the Sunlight is 31" X 25", "Renoir" l.r.

11 See hite, "Renoir's Trip to Italy," 344. The Blond Bather is 32" x 26", "' Monsieur H. Vever/Renoir.8i" u.r. (partially painted out). 12 Beginning with a statement in 1921 in Riviere, Renoir, I98f., almost every discussion of the artist's life states or implies that he married Aline Charigot in 1881. See Rewald, Impressionism, 456; J. Renoir, Renoir, 237-39; 247; D. Rouart, Renoir, Geneva, 1954, 53. In 1963, with the help of the artist's son M. Claude Renoir and the Conservateur of the

Musee Renoir des Collettes, M. Denis-Jean Clergue, I obtained a copy of Renoir's unpublished marriage certificate from the town hall of the 9th Arrondissement in Paris. This document specifies that the marriage date was April 14, 1890. This correct wedding date has subsequently (in 1964) appeared in the chronological table in Perruchot, Renoir, 364. 13 Letter to Mallarme, fall, 1891 (Rouart, Correspondance de Morisot, 163). Also see Jean Renoir's description of his mother in J. Renoir, Renoir, 216-18. 14 Bather Arranging her Hair is 36" X 29", "Renoir.85" 1.1. According to Rewald, Impressionism, 546, Valadon posed for the dark-haired nude.

112 THE ART BULLETIN

15 Renoir, Diana, 1867. Washington, D.C., National

Gallery of Art, Chester Dale Collection (photo: National

Gallery)

16 Renoir, Nude in the Sunlight, 1876. Paris, Jeu de Paume (photo: Archives Photographiques)

17 Renoir, Blond Bather, 188 I. Williamstown, Mass., Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute (photo: Clark Art Institute)

I8 Pompeian painting, Sappho, Ist century B.c. Naples, National Museum, fresco (photo: Alinari)

RENOIR'S 1887 "BATHERS" 113

19 Renoir, Mine. Renoir Nursing Pierre, 1886. Private collection (photo: Acquavella Galleries, Inc., N.Y.)

and linear (like the Bather Arranging Her Hair) with a right side that is Impressionist (like the Nude in the Sunlight). As might be expected, the total image lacks unity and harmony.

IV A work of art cannot be explained, yet an inquiry into the numerous influences affecting an artist helps us to under- stand some of the reasons why he painted in a certain manner. In the case of Renoir's complex contradictory Bathers, we can point to many possible influences: changes in the artist's personal life; the search for artistic progress; the effects of contemporaries, tradit ion, and popular taste.

Changes in Renoir's Personal Life In the 186o's and 1870's, Renoir was a member of the group of Impressionists (Monet, Pissarro, Sisley, Cezanne, and others) who lived and worked near one another in Paris and in the suburbs. They were bound together by similar artistic goals and methods, and their solidarity was rein- forced by the lack of understanding and outright hostility of Salon juries, art critics, and rich patrons to their "revolu- tionary painting." Rejected by all the powerful forces in the

2o Renoir, Bather Arranging Her Hair, 1885. Williamstown, Mass., Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute (photo: Clark Art Institute)

art world, the group was united in poverty and frustration. Renoir had only one success at an official Salon: in 1879

his non-Impressionist Portrait of Mme. Charpentier and Her Children received favorable reviews and general acclaim. During the years 1879-81 his reputation seemed to be im- proving, and he even had enough money to travel to Italy and Algeria. However, there was a depression in France beginning in 1882, and, in the mid-1880's, Renoir's dealer, Paul Durand-Ruel, could give the artist little financial help. The years 1883-87 were desperate for Renoir; he sold few works, and these went for low prices.15

In addition to experiencing monetary problems, by the mid-188o's Renoir felt lonely and isolated from the other painters. The Impressionist group had split apart, and the artists worked far from one another. For most of the time C6zanne was in Aix, Sisley in Moret, Monet in Giverny, and Pissarro in Eragny. While maintaining a Paris studio, Renoir traveled a great deal, staying in rural spots where living was cheaper - Essoyes, La Rochelle, La Roche- Guyon, Wargemont.16 These peaceful country settings in- spired the landscape and stream in the Bathers and in several of the preparatory drawings (Figs. I o, I i).

15 White, "Renoir's Development," 88-io6, I112-16, 126-3 I. 16 Between 1884 and 1887, Renoir's letters indicate that he was in the following places: 1884: Jan. and Feb. - Paris; summer - La Rochelle, Hotel d'Angoulkme. 1885: March 21 - Paris; June 15 to July II - La Roche-Guyon;July - Wargemont; August - La Roche-Guyon; September and October - Essoyes; early November - Wargemont; Nov. 20-30 - Paris at home (18 rue Houdon) and at studio (37 rue de Laval). 1886: January

and February in Paris; July 3 - La Roche-Guyon; June and July - Paris, 37 rue de Laval; August through mid-October - Maison Perrette, La Chapelle-Saint-Briac, and Sept. I - Gennevilliers; December 30 - Essoyes. 1887: January - Auvers; May 12 - Paris; August - 35 rue de la Station, Le V'sinet; September - Auvers; October - Paris, moves to 35 blvd. Rochechouart near Montmartre; Fall - Trouville, Honfleur, Louveciennes.

114 THE ART BULLETIN

Because he was a sociable artist who liked to work with

colleagues, Renoir missed the old community of painters. In

May, 1884, he drafted a program for "La Socidtd des Ir-

regularistes" that was partly motivated by a desire to re-establish an artistic fellowship.17 To his disappointment, the society was never formed.

A poignant episode reveals the artist's resistance to the

break-up of the old community. Renoir wanted to paint with Monet, but Monet preferred to work alone. On Janu- ary I13, 1884, Monet, about to depart on a painting trip, wrote to Durand-Ruel: "Aussi je vous demande de ne pas parler de ce voyage a personne, . . . Renoir me sachant sur le point de partir, serait sans doute desireux d'y venir avec moi et ce nous serait tout aussi funeste a l'un qu'5 l'autre. Vous serez sans doute de mon avis ... ".18 Two weeks later Monet informed Durand-Ruel: "J'ai ecrit 'a Renoir et je ne fais pas mystere de mon sejour ici; je tenais seulement a y venir seul, pour &tre plus libre avec mes impressions. C'est toujours mauvais de travailler a deux."19 Despite this apparent rejection, two years later Renoir was still eager to paint with his friend. He invited Monet to come and stay with him and his family at La Chapelle-Saint-Briac: ". . . me voila dans un coin gentil.... je crois que ce n'est pas perdre son temps de venir voir. J'ai une maison pour deux mois, avec cinq ou six chambres pour nous deux, si ga te tente, et si tu veux venir, ne te gene pas, rien de plus facile . . . Je t'ai dit, je crois, je suis la pour deux mois, ne te gene pas si tu veux voir, ga vaut la peine."20 Monet never accepted this invitation.

During the month when the Bathers was exhibited, Renoir wrote Durand-Ruel about how isolated he felt: "Je you- drais, de mon c6to, vous dire quelque chose d'interessant, mais je ne vois pas grand monde."21 He clearly regretted the dispersal of the old group.

Renoir's relationship with Aline and the birth of their son in 1885 may have affected the Bathers.22 Aline was Renoir's model and mistress from the late 1870's. She posed for the 1881 Blond Bather (Fig. 17) and for the central nude who faces us in the 1887 Bathers. In July 1884 she conceived

Renoir's child. The baby - who was given his father's name - was born on March 21, 1885; his birth was registered two

days later by the couple, although they were not married until April 14, 1890.23 At the time of Pierre's birth, Renoir was forty-four years old and Aline was twenty-six. When his son was small, Renoir painted Mme. Renoir Nursing Pierre

(Fig. 19). The artist made at least eighteen preparatory studies of this theme and three painted versions between

1885 and 1886.24 The financial burdens of a wife and child compounded

Renoir's problems. A symptom of his anxiety about his

relationship with Aline is his secretiveness about his personal life. Even though he saw Berthe Morisot and her husband at their weekly Thursday evening dinners throughout the late 1i88o's, Renoir never said a word about Aline or Pierre. He remained reticent even after his marriage. In the sum- mer of 1890, Morisot wrote to Mallarmd that "l'ami Renoir a passe plusieurs semaines avec nous."25 During his stay he did not mention his wife or son. A year later, in July, 1891, Renoir visited them unexpectedly and brought along a woman and a six-year-old child whom he did not introduce. Morisot and her husband were speechless until they deduced that Aline and Pierre were Renoir's wife and son.26

Further evidence suggesting Renoir's concealment of his

family appears in a letter of August, 1887, written by the

painter to Eugene Murer. At that time Paul Alexis was

writing an article about Murer's collection, and Renoir was fearful that Alexis might include something about Renoir's

personal life. Prudently he wrote to Murer: "Si vous voyez Trublot [pseudonym of Paul Alexis] dites-lui que c'est un excellent

garcon, mais il me ferait bien plaisir de ne pas dire

un mot sur moi; de mes toiles tant qu'il voudra, mais j'ai horreur de penser que le public sache comment je mange ma c6telette, et si je suis nd de parents pauvres, mais hon- n&tes. Les peintres sont assommants avec leurs histoires

lamentables, et on s'en fout comme de l'an quarante."27 Renoir's strange evasiveness with Morisot and her hus-

band may have been prompted by the fact that they were

wealthy and knew many potential patrons. For the same

17 Renoir's platform was included in a letter to Durand-Ruel, May, 1884 (Venturi, Archives, I, 127-29). 18 Monet's letter to Durand-Ruel, Giverny [Jan. I12, 1884] (ibid., I, 267- 68). 19 Monet's letter to Durand-Ruel, Bordighera, Jan. 28, 1884 (ibid., I, 271). 20 Letter to Monet, La Chapelle-Saint-Briac [Aug., 1886] (G. Geffroy, Claude Monet, sa vie, son oeuvre, Paris, 1924, I, 23). 21 Letter to Durand-Ruel [Paris] May I12, 1887 (Venturi, Archives, I, 138). 22 See Barbara Ehrlich White, "Renoir's Sensuous Women," in Woman as Sex Object, ed. Thomas B. Hess and Linda Nochlin, New York, 1972, I66-181. 23 The marriage contract of April 14, 1890, states that the couple had "declare reconnaitre pour leur fils en vue de la legitimation devant resulter de leur mariage, Pierre, nd eA Paris, le vingt et un mars mil huit cent quatre-vingt-cinq, inscrit le surlendemain en la dix-huitibme Mairie comme le fils de Pierre Auguste RENOIR, et de Aline Victorine CHARIGOT." See note I12 above. 24 Mme. Renoir Nursing Pierre (Fig. i9) Oil on canvas, 314" X 251" "Renoir" l.r. Coll. M. Jacotte, Limoges; Durand-Ruel, Paris; Adrien Hibrard,

Paris; Ambroise Vollard, Paris; Prince de Wagram, Paris; Knoedler. New York; Chester Beatty, London; Arthur Tooth, London; Sam Salz, New York; Knoedler, New York; Acquavella Galleries, New York; priv. coll.

Two other versions are: Mme. Renoir Nursing Pierre (on log bench) Oil on canvas, 32" X 251" "Renoir.85" l.r. Coll. M. Claude Renoir, Cagnes; Renou et Colle, Paris; M. Philippe

Gangnat, Paris. Ill. F. Fosca, Renoir, N.J., 1962, 185. Mme. Renoir Nursing Pierre (with cat) Oil on canvas 29" X 2If" "Renoir.86" 1.1. Coll. Durand-Ruel, Paris; Henry Sayles, Boston; Scott and Fowles,

N.Y.; Mr. and Mrs. Hunt Henderson, New Orleans; Mr. Charles Henderson, New Orleans.

Ill. N. Y. Duveen, Renoir Centennial Exhibition, 1941, pl. 57. 25 Letter to Mallarme, summer, 1890 (Musee Municipal, Limoges, Homage h Berthe Morisot et a P-A Renoir, catalogue by D. Rouart, 1952, 25). 26 Rouart, Correspondance de Morisot, 16 I . 27 Letter to Murer [Aug., 1887] (P. Gachet, Lettres impressionnistes au Dr. Gachet et h Murer, Paris, 1957, 95). Also see P. Gachet, Deux Amis des

Impressionnistes: Le Docteur Gachet et Murer, Paris, 1956, 170o.

RENOIR'S 1887 "BATHERS" 115

21 Ce'zanne, Bathers at Rest, 1875-76. Merion, Pa., Barnes Foundation (photo: Barnes Foundation)

reason, he did not want any personal facts included in Alexis's article. Knowledge that he had a peasant mistress and an illegitimate child would hardly enhance his reputa- tion in haut bourgeois society. Rather, it would confirm the

general conviction that he was a bohemian revolutionary. It seems likely that Renoir's financial burdens and his

isolation from his friends account in part for the overworked

rigidity of the Bathers. His personal difficulties might explain the nudes' lack of joy, vitality, and abandon. Anxiety may have contributed to the reduction of the freest part of his art - his Impressionism - and inhibited his natural gift for beautiful color harmonies. As his life became more difficult, perhaps he tried to counteract his personal uncertainty through his work. The classical, linear, and realist direction would bring stability and calm to his art - and to himself. Renoir's search for graphic control and for compositional order, as well as his intensified desire to assure himself that he was in the traditional ranks, may have been, in part, a result of his personal problems. Finally, Renoir's multiple difficulties undoubtedly made him unwilling to take risks.

Feeling that he must please the haute bourgeoisie, he modeled his art on Ingres's. At the same time he tried to remain faithful to his own artistic ideals.

The Search for Progress and "Irregularity" Renoir, like many of the other Impressionists, did not want to continue painting in the same style. He constantly sought progress and change in his art. In the platform paper that he wrote in May, 1884, for his proposed Society of Irregularists, he expresses many ideas that seem to explain some of the

peculiarities of the Bathers:

LA SOCIET DES IRREGULARISTES Dans toutes les controverses que soulkvent quotidienne- ment les questions d'art, le point capital sur lequel nous allons appeler l'attention est g6neralement laisse en oubli. Nous voulons parler de l'irregularite.

La nature a horreur du vide, disent les physiciens; ils

pourraient completer leur axiome en ajoutant qu'elle a non moins horreur de la regularitd. ....

il semble meme

que les beautes de tout ordre tirent leur charme de cette

diversitd. En examinant a ce point de vue les productions plas-

tiques ou architecturales les plus renommees, on s'aper- ?oit ais6ment que les grands artistes qui les ont credes, soucieux de proc6der comme cette nature dont ils ne cessaient d'&tre les respectueux 6l&ves, se sont bien gardes de transgresser sa loi fondamentale d'irregularitd .... On

peut ainsi, sans crainte d'erreur, affirmer que toute pro- duction v6ritablement artistique a 6te concue et exdcutie d'apres le principe d'irregularit6, en un mot, pour nous servir d'un ndologisme qui exprime plus completement notre pens6e, qu'elle est toujours l'ceuvre d'un irregu- lariste.28

The irregularity within the Bathers - between the left

(realist, classical, and linear styles) and the right (Impres- sionist style) - may be a manifestation of his artistic credo. We have seen that in preparatory studies for his painting, Renoir experimented with a variety of techniques and with different postures and arrangements. Furthermore, in his letters of the mid-188o's he spoke continually of his search for artistic progress. In the summer of 1884 he wrote to Durand-Ruel: "Voila le premier voyage qui m'aura servi a quelque chose, et justement parce que le temps tellement mauvais m'a fait plus r6flechir et voir que faire du vrai travail. Neanmoins j'ai rempli des toiles."29 In the fall of

1885 he wrote to his dealer: "J'ai beaucoup perdu de temps a trouver une maniere dont je sois satisfait. Je pense avoir fini de trouver, et tout marchera bien."30

Another letter from Renoir to Durand-Ruel, dated

August, 1886, states: "Je suis tres content et je suis sir maintenant de pouvoir produire sfirement et mieux que par le pass6."3'1 In spite of positive feelings, he must have later

changed his mind. In April, 1887, Pissarro wrote to his son: "11 parait aussi que Renoir a d6truit tout ce qu'il a fait l'ann6e derni;re pendant l'6td.'"32

From such evidence, it seems that 1884-87 was a period of experimentation which culminated in the large Bathers.

During these years Renoir may have been guided by a theoretical idea of irregularity which contributed to the

stylistic diversity of the painting.

The Influence of Contemporaries Only the right third of the Bathers is painted in an Impres- sionist manner. This departure from a totally Impressionist

28 Venturi, Archives, I, 127-28. Also see "From Auguste Renoir's Note- book" in J. Renoir, Renoir, 240-45. 29 Letter to Durand-Ruel [La Rochelle, summer, 1884] (Venturi, Archives, I, 129-30).

30 Letter to Durand-Ruel, Essoyes [Sept.-Oct., 1885] (ibid., I, 132). 31 Letter to Durand-Ruel, Saint-Briac [Aug., 1886] (ibid., I, 136). 32 Letter to Lucien, Paris, April 14, 1887 (Rewald, Pissarro: Lettres, 141).

22 Girardon, Bathing Nymphs, 1668-70, iron bas-relief. Versailles, Gardens (photo: Archives Photographiques)

23 Boucher, Diana at Her Bath, 1742. Paris, Louvre (photo: Archives Photographiques)

24 Raphael, Galatea, 1513, fresco. Rome, Villa Farnesina (photo: Anderson)

H

25 Ingres, Preparatory Drawing for the Grande Odalisque, ca. 1814, pencil. Paris, Louvre (photo: Archives Photographiques)

26 Ingres, Grande Odalisque, I814. Paris, Louvre (photo: Archives Photographiques) 27 Ingres, La Source, 1856. Paris, Louvre (photo: Archives

Photographiques)

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I18 THE ART BULLETIN

image (as seen in Fig. 16) was part of a general anti- naturalist movement in French literature, music, and paint- ing at this time.33 Renoir's divergence from naturalism towards a new classicism had begun in 188I1 with the Blond Bather (Fig. 17). Around 1883-84 the general acceptance of certain new aesthetic and philosophical doctrines led many artists to question the visual basis of Impressionism. Wyzewa later wrote that enlightened people around 1883 were tired of the visible world with its harsh relief, crude light, and

blinding colors.34 In literature, likewise, some writers de-

parted from Zola's scientific naturalism. This departure is

exemplified most clearly by Huysmans's A Rebours of 1884, in which he wrote of his dislike for the modern world and its scientific progress. Renoir concurred. In his platform for the Society of Irregularists, he expressed hostility toward industrialization: "A une 6poque oi notre art frangais, si

plein jusqu'au commencement du ce siecle encore, de charme penetrant et d'exquise fantaisie, va p6rir sous la

rdgularitd, la secheresse, la manie de fausse perfection qui fait qu'en ce moment l'dpure de l'ing6nieur tend a devenir l'iddal, nous pensons qu'il est utile de rdagir promptement contre les doctrines mortelles qui menacent de l'aneantir, et