Fine Art M.S. Rau | L’Homme Au Petit Chapeau By Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Pierre-Auguste Renoir
1841-1919 | French

L’Homme Au Petit Chapeau (Portrait Of Baron Raoul Barbier)

Signed “Renoir” (Upper Right)
Oil On Canvas

This Extraordinary And Thoughtful Painting By The Great Pierre-Auguste Renoir Entitled L’Homme Au Petit Chapeau Is A Rare Portrait Of Renoir’S Friend Baron Raoul Barbier. Barbier Seems Caught In A Moment Of Deep Focus, Absorbed In His Reading. The Subtlety In Variations Of Color Brings An Ethereal Quality Of Renoir’S Brushwork. The Palette Is Rich In Nuances Of Green Blues, Capturing The Delicate Interplay Of Natural Light On The Sitter’S Complexion, Complete With Barbier’S Famous Bowling Cap. A Parisian Legend, The Baron Also Appears In Renoir’S Masterpiece Luncheon Of The Boating Party, The Artist’S Most Famous Painting.

In Renoir’S Luncheon, Barbier Is Prominently Featured In The Iconic Tableau Set Along The Seine River With His Back To The Viewer As He Speaks With Alphonsine Fournaise, The Daughter Of The Establishment’S Owner. A Man Of Considerable Standing In Both Renoir’S Intimate Circle And Parisian Society, Barbier Was A Former Cavalry Officer, The Mayor Of Saigon During French Occupation And Was Well-Known For His Bohemian Way Of Life. Only Two Other Portraits Of Barbier Are Known, And L’Homme Au Petit Chapeau Is Pictured In Multiple Books, Among Them Guy Patrice And Michel Dauberville’S Catalogue Raisonné Of Renoir’S Work.

Working Closely With Monet, Renoir Began Experimenting With The Portrayal Of Light And Its Effect On His Canvases. The Youngest Member Of The Impressionist Movement, The Astute Renoir Recognized How A Subject Was Constantly Changing Due To The Dynamic Effects Of Light On Color. Relying Heavily Upon His Academic Training That Focused On Composition, Lines And Descriptive Details, Renoir Distinguished Himself Among His Contemporaries. His Intuitive Use Of Color And Expansive Brushstroke, Along With Acute Attention To His Subject, Have Placed Him Among The Finest Painters In History.

Comparable Portraits Of Renoir’S Close Friends Are Held In The Permanent Collections Of Esteemed Institutions Including The Louvre, The Getty Museum And The National Gallery Of Art In Washington D.C.

Painted 1877

Canvas: 11 1/2″ High X 11″ Wide
Frame: 18 5/8″ High X 18″ Wide X 2″ Deep

Provenance:
Private Collection Of Baron Raoul Barbier, Paris, Acquired From The Artist (C. 1877)
Private Collection Of Heirs Of Baron Raoul Barbier, France
Private Collection Of Jacques Seligmann, Paris (As Of 1933)
Private Collection Of Georges Bernheim, Paris
Sale, Galerie Jean Charpentier, Paris, Collection Georges Bernheim (Première Vente), June 7, 1935, No. 80 (Ill. As “Portrait D’Homme Au Petit Chapeau”)
Private Collection Of Arthur Sachs
Sale, Sotheby Parke Bernet Inc., New York, Important 19Th And 20Th Century Paintings And Drawings From The Collections Of Arthur Sachs And Marian François-Poncet, And The Property Of Various Owners, November 28, 1973, No. 5 (Color Ill. As “L’Homme Au Petit Chapeau”)
Lefevre Fine Art &Amp; Thomas Gibson Fine Art, London
Private Collection Of Betty Brown Casey, Potomac, Acquired From Above (2005–22)
Estate Of Betty Brown Casey
M.S. Rau, New Orleans

Exhibitions:
Paris, Musée De L’Orangerie, Renoir, 1933, No. 39, P. 18 (Lender: Jacques Seligmann Et Fils, Paris)
Paris, Galerie Paul Pétridès, Hommage À Renoir, June 6–July 1, 1950, No. 22, P. 15
San Francisco, California Palace Of The Legion Of Honor, Nineteenth Century Paintings From The Collection Of Mr. Arthur Sachs, October 21, 1950
Cagnes-Sur-Mer, Maison De Renoir, Les Collettes, Renoir Aux Collettes, July 26–August 31, 1960
Washington, D.C., Phillips Collection, Renoir And Friends: Luncheon Of The Boating Party, October 7, 2017–January 7, 2018, No. 18, P. 134 (Color Ill. P. 41, As “Man With A Little Hat (L’Homme Au Petit Chapeau)”)

Literature:
“Nineteenth Century Paintings From The Collection Of Mr. Arthur Sachs, October 21, 1950,” Bulletin Of The California Palace Of The Legion Of Honor 8, No. 7-8 (November–December 1950)
François Daulte, Auguste Renoir: Catalogue Raisonné De L’Œuvre Peint, Vol. 1, Figures, 1860–1890 (Lausanne: Editions Durand-Ruel, 1971), No. 242 (Ill. As “L’Homme Au Petit Chapeau”)
Guy-Patrice Dauberville And Michel Dauberville, Renoir: Catalogue Raisonné Des Tableaux, Pastels, Dessins Et Aquarelles, Vol. 1, 1858–1881 (Paris: Bernheim-Jeune, 2007), No. 518, P. 511 (Ill. As “L’Homme Au Petit Chapeau (Baron Raoul Barbier)”)