Lot 41 Dα

In this small, delicately coloured painting, the female figure is depicted like a Venus rising from the dark background. The figure is virtuously worked out, her face turned away, her right hand cautiously extended. It is impressive what Renoir was able to bring to this small format: the voluptuous female model (also by Fantin-Latour) in the right side of the picture, her head turned towards the centre of the picture and a flower in her hair, drawing the viewer's eye to the triangular construction between the hair arrangement and the breasts. This work was probably created outdoors before Renoir's trip to Italy in 1881/1882, a working method to which Renoir was inspired by Gustave Courbet and Narcisse Diaz de la Peña. It gives the viewer a hint of Renoir's interest in Baroque elements with the fine brushstrokes and the blending of planes. The body proportions are appropriately stylised, with the upper body much narrower than the hips. In the background of this 'en plein air' scene is the suggestion of the sea or spray on a beach. The naturalness of the gesture against the dark surrounding space, seems like a deliberate contrast, but also awakens - as does the flower in her hair - the connotation of the Ariadne myth. Ariadne, who is left behind, or rather abandoned, by Theseus on Naxos, only to be subsequently rescued by Dionysus. The ancient theme found many representations in music and the performing arts, just as Renoir may have had this story in mind when painting this small gem.