A Couple (Les Fiancés)
A Couple (Les Fiancés) | |
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Artist | Pierre-Auguste Renoir |
Year | c. 1868 |
Medium | Oil on canvas |
Dimensions | 105 cm × 75 cm (41 in × 30 in) |
Location | Wallraf–Richartz Museum, Cologne, Germany |
A Couple (Les Fiancés) also known as The Engaged Couple or Alfred Sisley and his Wife, is an oil-on-canvas painting by the French artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841–1919), created around 1868 during his early Salon period at a time when he focused on thematic works about couples. It was acquired by the Wallraf–Richartz Museum in 1912.[1]
Background
Renoir and Alfred Sisley (1839–1899) both attended the studio of Charles Gleyre in the early 1860s. By 1865, they were good friends. Renoir painted Sisley's portrait several times, beginning with Mother Anthony's Tavern (1866).[2] A letter from Renoir to artist Frédéric Bazille (1841–1870) in September 1869 identifies the woman at Sisley's side as Renoir's model Lise Tréhot (1848–1922). In the letter to Bazille, Renoir writes about his desperation for money: "I exhibited [the portraits of] Lise and Sisley at Carpentier's. I am going to try to stick him for about 100 francs, and I'm going to put my woman in white up for auction. I'll sell it for whatever price it goes for; it's all the same to me."[3][4]
Description
Although Lise was Renoir's lover at the time of the painting, he had her pose with Sisley, who was also involved with another woman, Eugénie Lescouézec. Art historian Michael F. Zimmermann writes that "the result was the modern image of an engaged couple, as well as a genre portrait enlarged to life size. The painter presents the gentleman's caressing affection and the lady's grateful intimacy from the perspective of a close friend, who recognizes these gestures as habitual but none the less touching."[5]
Analysis
The painting shows the inspiration of Realism, particularly the influence of the work of Édouard Manet (1832–1883), although by this time Renoir was working towards his own personal style.[6] The museum performed an X-ray in 2021, which revealed that an altogether different painting lies beneath the current work.[7]
Influence
Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) was a personal fan of Renoir, and at one time owned seven of his paintings.[8] He was also a fierce defender of Renoir against his critics in the avant-garde.[9] Inspired by A Couple (Les Fiancés), Picasso produced three pencil studies (Le Ménage Sisley) based on the work.[10]
See also
References
- ^ Walther, Ingo F. (1999). Masterpieces of Western Art. A history of art in 900 individual studies. Volume II. Impressionism, Art Nouveau and Jugendstil (1860-1910). Taschen. p. 502. ISBN 3-8228-7031-5
- ^ Tinterow, Gary. Henri Loyrette (1994). Origins of Impressionism Archived 2016-06-03 at the Wayback Machine. Metropolitan Museum of Art. pp. 304, 460-461, ISBN 9780870997174. OCLC 30623473.
- ^ Distel, Anne (1990). Impressionism: The First Collectors. Trans. by Barbara Perroud-Benson. Harry N. Abrams. p. 53. ISBN 0-8109-3160-5.
- ^ House, John (1997). Pierre-Auguste Renoir: La Promenade. Getty Publications. p. 17. ISBN 9780892363650. OCLC 37109128.
- ^ Zimmerman, Michael F. (2012). "From Bohemia to Arcadia: Renoir Between Nervous Modernity and Primitive Eternity." In Nina Zimmer (ed). Renoir: Between Bohemia and Bourgeoisie. The Early Years. Hatje Cantz. pp. 15-50. ISBN 9783775732413. OCLC 789642444.
- ^ White, Barbara Ehrlich (2017). Renoir: An Intimate Biography. Thames & Hudson. p. 28. ISBN 9780500774038. OCLC 1012226709.
- ^ Dege, Stefan (December 25, 2021). "How art restorers uncover hidden details in artworks". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
- ^ Covington, Richard (February 2010). "Renoir's Controversial Second Act". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
- ^ FitzGerald, Michael C. (1996). Making Modernism: Picasso and the Creation of the Market for Twentieth-century Art. University of California Press. p. 97. ISBN 9780520206533
- ^ Baldassari, Anne (2008). Picasso and the Masters. National Galleries of the Grand Palais (France), Musée du Louvre. Quote: "In addition, he produced three pencil studies entitled Le Ménage Sisley (Paris, Picasso Museum, MP 868; Berlin, Neue Nationalgalerie, Sammlung Heinz Berggruen), direct quote from Renoir's painting Le Couple Sisley.
External links
- Description at the Wallraf–Richartz Museum.
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- List of paintings
- Portrait of William Sisley (1864)
- Mother Anthony's Tavern (1866)
- Diana (1867)
- Lise with a Parasol (1867)
- Frédéric Bazille at his Easel (1867)
- A Couple (Les Fiancés) (1868)
- In Summer (1868)
- Skaters in the Bois de Boulogne (1868)
- Léonard Renoir, The Artist's Father (1869)
- La Grenouillère (1869)
- A Nymph by a Stream (1869-70)
- L'Algérienne (1870)
- La Promenade (1870)
- Bather with a Griffon Dog (1870)
- Woman with Parakeet (1871)
- The Harem (1872)
- Le Pont-Neuf (1872)
- Claude Monet Painting in His Garden at Argenteuil (1873)
- La Parisienne (1874)
- La Loge (1874)
- The Grand Boulevards (1875)
- Portrait of the Painter Claude Monet (1875)
- In the Garden - Under the Arbour at the Moulin de la Galette (1875)
- Woman with a Cat (1875)
- Bal du moulin de la Galette (1876)
- Nude woman sitting on a couch (Anna) (1876)
- The Swing (1876)
- A Girl with a Watering Can (1876)
- Mother and Children (1876)
- At the Theatre (1876-1877)
- Eugène Murer (1877)
- The Day Dream (1877)
- The Cup of Chocolate (1878)
- Madame Georges Charpentier and Her Children (1878)
- Portrait of Jeanne Samary (1878)
- Lunch at the Restaurant Fournaise (1879)
- Paysage Bords de Seine (1879)
- Portrait of Irène Cahen d'Anvers (La Petite Irène) (1880)
- Luncheon of the Boating Party (1881)
- Pink and Blue (1881)
- Two Sisters (On the Terrace) (1881)
- Young Women in Black (1880-1882)
- Blonde Bather (1881 and 1882)
- The Umbrellas (1880–81, 1885–86)
- By the Seashore (1883)
- Dance at Bougival (1883)
- Dance in the City (1883)
- Dance in the Country (1883)
- Les Grandes Baigneuses (1884–1887)
- Nature morte: fleurs (1885)
- The Braid (1886-1887)
- Young Woman with a Blue Ribbon (1888)
- Girls at the Piano (1892)
- Yvonne and Christine Lerolle at the Piano (1897)
- Woman Playing a Guitar (1897)
- Gabrielle with Open Blouse (1907)
- Nude (1910)
- After the Bath (1910)
- The Coast at Cagnes, Sea, Mountains (c. 1910)
- Portrait of Ambroise Vollard in a Red Headscarf (1911)
- The Farm at Les Collettes, Cagnes (c. 1908–1914)
- Blond Girl with a Rose (1915–1917)
- Portrait of Adèle Besson (1918)
- The Bathers (1918–19)
- Venus Victorious (c. 1914)
- A Studio at Les Batignolles (1870 painting)
- Bazille's Studio (1870 painting)
- The Impressionists (2006 series)
- Renoir (2012 film)
- Aline Charigot (wife)
- Lucienne Bisson (daughter)
- Pierre Renoir (son)
- Jean Renoir (son)
- Claude Renoir (son)
- Claude Renoir (grandson)
- Alain Renoir (grandson)
- Pierre Roland Renoir (great-grandson)
- Sophie Renoir (great-granddaughter)
- Musée de Montmartre, home and studio
- Gabrielle Renard (nanny, later model)
- Lise Tréhot
- Marguerite Legrand
- Catherine Hessling
- Richard Guino
- Jeanne Samary
- Suzanne Valadon
- Henriette Henriot
- Jane Henriot (child model)
- Raoul Rigault
- Jeanne Baudot (his only student)
- Maison Fournaise
- Pays des Impressionnistes
- Renoir (crater)