Seated Bather - Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Albert H. Wolf Fund

"Seated Bather" by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (c. 1897) Color soft ground etching in blue on ivory wove paper.

Commentary

"Seated Bather" by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (c. 1897) invites a close look at how form and feeling work together. The print-based method rewards close viewing, where line, texture, and contrast do most of the expressive work. Themes to notice includ e soft-ground etching. This piece is held in the source collection's Prints and Drawings collection. Pierre-Auguste Renoir is the artist behind this work. A useful anchor for reading the piece: Pierre Auguste Renoir (French, 1841-1919) published by Léon Roger-Milès (French, 1859-1928). The work is cataloged within a France cultural context. How to look at this work: It is cataloged as soft-ground etching, which gives a clue to how the museum frames the object. Its medium (Color soft ground etching in blue on ivory wove paper) affects texture, durability, and how detail reads at different distances. Its listed dimensions (Image: 21.9 × 13.9 cm (8 5/8 × 5 1/2 in.); Plate: 21.9 × 13.7 cm (8 5/8 × 5 7/16 in.); Sheet: 32.3 × 23.8 cm (12 3/4 × 9 3/8 in.)) suggest how intimate or monumental it may feel in person. Subject cues from the catalog include soft-ground etching. Compare this reading with the museum record at the source collection: https://www.artic.edu/artworks/22768

Sources: Art Institute of Chicago; Art Institute of Chicago / Public Records; Art Institute of Chicago Collection Data