France, 19th century / 1864
Romaine Lacaux
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Romaine Lacaux as painting (France, 19th century · 1864).
The son of a poor tailor from Limoges, Renoir began his artistic career at age 13 as an apprentice to a porcelain painter.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this painting as oil on fabric and credits Pierre-Auguste Renoir (French, 1841–1919).
The museum's collection notes: This painting may be Renoir's earliest signed canvas. Its sensitive display of color and light communicates an ideal of delicate, youthful beauty. The luminous tones of the background drapery and of the child's white blouse result from the artist's careful observation of reflected light and color on translucent materials. The delicate nuances of color, particularly in the young girl's face, reveal Renoir's previous training as a decorator of porcelain. He painted this portrait, commissioned by the vacationing Lacaux family, during his stay at an artist's colony in the village of Barbizon, near Paris.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtRomaine LacauxOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.