Sanguine, chalk and charcoal on paper Pierre-Auguste Renoir (French, 1841-1919) Signed with the artist's initial lower center 'R' This work is sold with a certificate prepared by the Wildenstein Institute Dimensions: 11 1/2 x 18 in. (27.9 x 45.7 cm.) Dimensions, framed: 26 x 32 x 3 in. (66 x 81.3 x 7.6 cm.) In 19th century Europe, led by the French Academies, a strict technical curriculum mandating an exacting representation of the form was the means to achieve the very zenith of ideal beauty. The Impressionists and Post-Impressionists responded strongly against this ideology rejecting the confines of the highly controlled studio atmosphere. In their quest to express a revolutionary way of seeing and perceiving the world around them, they re-imagined and reconstituted the human form, not through direct representation but by liberating their brushwork and bold color palette to capture the very essence of beauty. Perhaps no artist has dedicated himself more to the depiction of female figure than Pierre-Auguste Renoir. For Renoir, possibilities with the female form were endless and as a result of this commitment, his work garnered much commercial success. Apart from the vast oeuvre of paintings the artist left, his graphic work – drawings, pastels, and watercolors -- are of immense importance to further our understanding. The artist made copious studies on paper in preparation for his oils, yet ironically, he seemed to have little respect for them as and was known to have routinely discarded his drawings. It was only posthumously that the first significant exhibition of his drawings was mounted by Galerie Durand Ruel in 1921. In Etudes de Femme, Renoir shows a masterful control over the pastel medium that, in his hands, can flow as easy as a paintbrush. Here, the artist displays richly textured passages achieved by smudging the colors together. In the figure to the right, the artist smudges the colors together to reveal wonderful feathery passages, richly textured. In the figure at right, the buildup of color is so intense one senses a push and pull that gives the illusion that the woman is receding and appearing at the same moment. Laid to heavy wove paper, repairing 3 small tears along right edge and pinholes in all four corners as well as one pinhole in upper center, all well away from image; handling soiling throughout, yet concentrated in extreme edges; slight mat burn along all edges, not exceeding more than ½ inch from sheet edge. Starting Price : 36000