9781422271797

PIERRE-AUGUSTE RENOIR

PLATE 7 Bather with Her Griffon (1870) Oil on canvas, 72 1 ⁄ 2 x 45 1 ⁄ 4 inches (184 x 115 cm) The subject of this painting is again Lise Tréhot but without the classical trappings. In this painting, Renoir was influenced by the work of Gustave Courbet, and the pose is reminiscent of him. The fact that the dog is a griffon, a creature with mythological associations, may have some significance, since he submitted it to the Salon of 1870 and it was accepted. While he was exploring pictorial possibilities with such paintings as those he produced while working with Monet at La Grenouillère, Renoir continued to paint more traditional subjects, particularly nude studies for exhibition at the Salon, remarking that if showing at the Salon did no good, it at least did no harm.

PLATE 8 (right) On the Grass (1873) Oil on canvas, 23 1 ⁄ 2 x 28 15 ⁄

16 in.

(59.7 x 73.5 cm)

The Bather with Her Griffon (left) is painted in a Realistic style. In comparison, On the Grass follows the principles of Impressionism, using light and shade and a much looser and softer approach.

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