Woman in an Armchair

1874

Pierre-Auguste Renoir French, 1841-1919

On View

Modern, Level 2, Central Wing

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About the Artwork

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Markings

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Provenance

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Exhibition History

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Published References

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Catalogue Raisonné

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Credit Line for Reproduction

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About the Artwork

Renoir's finished study of a woman has the quality of a sketch; his rapid brushstrokes describe the play of light across the model's face, arms, and torso. The identity of this sitter remains a mystery.

Title Woman in an Armchair

Artwork Date 1874

Artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Life Dates 1841-1919

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. French

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. Unknown

Medium Oil on canvas

Dimensions Unframed: 24 × 19 7/8 inches (61 × 50.5 cm) Framed: 35 inches × 29 5/8 inches × 4 inches (88.9 × 75.2 × 10.2 cm)

Classification Paintings

Department European Modern Art to 1970

Credit Bequest of Mrs. Allan Shelden III

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 1985.24

Markings

Signed Signed, lower right: Renoir

Provenance

Mr. Lemaire (Paris, France):
March 20, 1901, purchased by (Durand-Ruel, Paris, France);
July 7, 1904, purchased by Mr. Van de Velde (Le Havre, France);
Mrs. Paul Guillaume (Paris, France);
Mrs. Jean Walter (Paris, France);
late 1920s, purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Allan Shelden (Grosse Pointe, Michigan, USA);
by descent to Mrs. Allan Shelden III (Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, USA);
1985-present, bequest to the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance, please visit:

Provenance page

Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

We welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.

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Published References

Fosca, F. Renoir. New York, 1924, pl. 3.

"The Age of Impressionism and Objective Realism." Art News 38, no. 31 (May 1940): p. 12 (ill.).

Masterpieces of Painting from Detroit Private Collections. Detroit, 1949, no. 26 (ill.). [as Lise, lent anonymously.]

Fosca, F. Renoir. M.I. Martin, trans. New York, 1969, pp. 69, 283 (ill.).

Daulte, F. Auguste Renoir. Vol. 1, Figures 1860-1890. Lausanne, Switzerland, 1971, no. 107 (ill.).

Bulletin of the DIA: Annual Report 62, no. 3 (1986): p. 10 (pl. 6), p. 21.

Masterpieces from The Detroit Institute of Arts. Exh. cat., Bunkamura Museum of Art, 1989, pp. 95, 174, 221, cat. 63 (ill.).

Henshaw, Julia P. A Visitor's Guide: The Detroit Institute of Arts. Detroit, 1995, p. 223 (ill.).

Message 1995. Exh. cat., Toyota Municipal Museum of Art. Toyota, 1995, pp. 40–41, 199, cat. 5 (ill.).

Keyes, George S. "Late Nineteenth-Century French Paintings at the Detroit Institute of Arts." Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts 77, no. 1/2 (2003): 4–7, p. 7, (fig. 3 ill.).

Beal, Graham W.J. and Debra N. Mancoff. Treasures of the DIA. Detroit, 2007, p. 359, no. 283 (ill.).

Beal, Graham W.J. and Debra N. Mancoff. Treasures of the DIA. Detroit, 2015, pp. 14–15 (ill.).

Eiling, Alexander, ed. Renoir: Rococo Revival. Exh. cat., Städel Museum. Frankfurt am Main, 2022, p. 289, no. 102 (ill.).

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