Cat. 1. Vase of Flowers, 1857
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Cat. 1 Vase of Flowers, May 1857
Catalogue #: 1 Active: Yes Tombstone:Cat. 1
Vase of Flowers
May 1857
Graphite on grayish off-white wove paper; 173 × 103 mm1
The Art Institute of Chicago, gift of Dorothy Braude Edinburg to the Harry B. and Bessie K. Braude Memorial Collection, 2013.1011
This highly detailed study, rather labored in its execution, dates from Renoir’s early career. It stands as evidence of a precocious talent; he was still a teenager at the time it was made. It is unlikely that the young artist viewed the stylized motif firsthand; instead, as was usual in nineteenth-century art practice, he probably worked from a preexisting pattern. Copying was a standard component of artistic training at this time and, a few years after he made this work, Renoir enrolled at the École des Beaux-Arts, where the demand for classes on ornamental drawing had grown considerably.2
It seems that Renoir took considerable care over this sheet, even adding the date. Vase of Flowers is ambitious despite its small scale. The level of detail in the work is remarkable. Though only a sketchbook sheet, the center of the bouquet is highly developed, with each petal or frond differentiated. The container that holds the blooms appears to have two tiers; the second is undeveloped, with only a loose suggestion of further decoration. Renoir used graphite in this particular drawing but, through variance of pressure, he created a range of effects. The faint outer edges, for instance, contrast with the intense heart of the arrangement.
Some of these characteristics—together with the decorative subject matter—point to his training as a painter of ceramics. In 1854, Renoir was apprenticed in a porcelain workshop on the rue des Fossés du Temple3 and purportedly spent four years painting cups and saucers, stopping only to spend his lunchtime at the Musée du Louvre.4 In the current sheet, occasional indentations in the paper, for instance, suggest that he applied the pencil with a steadiness that was surely an asset in his chosen, commercial line of work.
In 1858 (one year after making this drawing), Renoir stopped painting porcelain for a living, as the process had become mechanized and the profession declined. Nevertheless, it is clear that he valued this training, and in later years emphasized the value of apprenticeships. “Painting isn’t about daydreaming,” he complained. “First and foremost it is a manual trade, and one should do it as a good workman.”5 If Renoir’s later works exude leisurely ease, as this little drawing indicates, his virtuosity took years to hone.
Nancy Ireson
Technical Report
Technical Summary
Vase of Flowers was executed in [glossary:graphite] on smooth, grayish–off-white [glossary:wove] paper. The smoothness of the paper perfectly suited this detailed composition, enabling the graphite to glide over the surface. The paper was formerly bound in a sketchbook along the bottom, as evidenced by the irregular edge and binding holes (fig. 1.1). Using a relatively hard graphite, Renoir outlined the forms and, with a series of fine parallel lines, modeled the container and the flowers in the foreground (fig. 1.2). Under magnification, the darkest lines reveal a slight embossing—the result of pressing the graphite tip more firmly into the paper. Renoir employed fewer and fewer strokes of graphite as he worked outward from the center of the composition, suggesting the foot of the container with a bare minimum of lines. The drawing technique is direct, with no visible compositional revisions or alterations.
Media and Support
Support Characteristics
Primary paper type
Grayish–off-white, medium-thick, smooth wove paper, taken from a bound sketchbook.6
Furnish
Uniform, without visible inclusions or colored fibers.
Formation
Even, machine made.
Other characteristics
The bottom edge was torn from a former binding, producing an irregular edge with folds and creases and four binding holes, spaced 1.1 cm, 2.9 cm, 7.3 cm and 9.1 cm from the left edge. The left, top, and right edges are trimmed straight.
Dimensions
173 × 103 mm.
Preparatory Layers
No artistic surface alterations or coatings are visible under normal conditions or magnification. Under [glossary:UV] illumination, there is a pale-yellow visible-light [glossary:fluorescence] overall on the paper surface that is characteristic of a light gelatin surface [glossary:sizing].
Media Characteristics
The work was drawn directly in graphite. Examination under magnification reveals that modeling was created with thin strokes of hard graphite; there is no evidence of [glossary:stumping]. Erasure may have been used to create some small areas of highlights on the flowers and their container.
Compositional Development
No revisions or changes to the composition are visible under normal conditions or magnification.
Surface Treatment
No artistic surface fixative or coatings are visible under normal conditions, UV illumination, or magnification. A light gelatin sizing is visible under UV illumination.
Condition History
The drawing is in very good condition. There is a loss in the upper right corner of the support. Light discoloration is visible overall and is a little more pronounced at the edges. The support lifts slightly upward off the mat at the top and bottom edges. There is light smudging of the graphite medium overall. Mild surface soiling and smudges are evident around the perimeter of the drawing.
On the verso, there is a strip of transparent, colorless adhesive residue along the right edge. The center left edge exhibits a small area of [glossary:skinning].
Kimberly Nichols
Provenance
Estate of the artist.7
By descent to the artist’s grandson, Paul Renoir (born 1924), Cagnes.8
Paul Renoir, Cagnes, to at least Aug. 1977.9
Consigned by Mrs. J. Trent, Toronto, to Odon Wagner Gallery, Toronto, by 1991.10
Sold by Odon Wagner Gallery, Toronto, through Christie’s, New York, Feb. 14, 1991, lot 2, to Dorothy Braude Edinburg.11
Given by Dorothy Braude Edinburg to the Art Institute of Chicago, 2013.
Exhibition History
Turin, Galeria Stefano Pirra, 125 Dessins inédits de Pierre Auguste Renoir, 1971, p. 58 (ill.).
Art Institute of Chicago, Drawings in Dialogue: Old Master through Modern; The Harry B. and Bessie K. Braude Memorial Collection, June 3–July 30, 2006, p. 106, cat. 71 (ill.).
Other Documentation:Other Documentation
Inscriptions and Distinguishing Marks
Recto
Inscription
Location: right bottom edge
Method: graphite
Content: Mai 1857 (fig. 1.3)
Examination Conditions and Technical Analysis
Raking Visible Light
Paper [glossary:support] characteristics identified.
Transmitted Visible Illumination
Paper mold characteristics identified.
Ultraviolet-Induced Visible Fluorescence (365 nm)
Light surface sizing detected overall.
Stereomicroscopy (80–100×)
Media identified.
Image Inventory
The image inventory compiles records of all known images of the artwork on file in the Imaging Department and in the conservation and curatorial files in the Department of Prints and Drawings at the Art Institute of Chicago (fig. 1.4).
Footnotes:DELETED Add National Gallery of Canada reference. [Please insert reference.]
Page description of thickness and texture follow the standard set forth in Elizabeth Lunning and Roy Perkinson, The Print Council of America Paper Sample Book: A Practical Guide to the Description of Paper (Print Council of America/Sun Hill, 1996).
Such a class was established finally in 1873. See Monique Segré, L’école des beaux-arts XIX–XX siècles (L’Harmattan, 1998), pp. 111–13.
Henri Perruchot, La vie de Renoir (Hachette, 1964), p. 17.
Ambroise Vollard, En écoutant Cézanne, Degas, Renoir (Grasset, 1994), p. 207. He was well liked in the studio and displayed clear aptitude. He worked so quickly that, in reference to his prolific output, he gained the nickname “Monsieur Rubens,” referring to the great seventeenth-century painter Peter Paul Rubens, who was reputed to have had a very fast painting technique. See Jean Renoir, Renoir, My Father, trans. Randolph and Dorothy Weaver (Collins, 1962), pp. 74–75.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir, quoted in Albert André, Renoir (G. Crès, 1923), pp. 10–11.
According to François Daulte and Paul Renoir, the sheet comes from one of Renoir’s early sketchbooks. See François Daulte, note dated Jan. 24, 1991, and Paul Renoir, note dated Aug. 7, 1977, curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago.
Paul Renoir, note dated Aug. 7, 1977, curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago.
Daniela Pirra of Galeria Pirra, note dated May 21, 2014, and Paul Renoir, note dated Aug. 7, 1977, curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago.
Paul Renoir, note dated Aug. 7, 1977, curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago.
See Odon Wagner to the Art Institute of Chicago, May 23, 2014, curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago.
See Odon Wagner to the Art Institute of Chicago, May 23, 2014, curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago.