Artist
Pierre-Auguste RenoirFrench, 1841–1919
CultureFrench
Titles
- Still Life with Bouquet
Date1871
PlaceFrance
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsCanvas: 29 × 23 1/4 × 1 1/4 in. (73.7 × 59.1 × 3.2 cm)
Credit LineThe Robert Lee Blaffer Memorial Collection, gift of Sarah Campbell Blaffer
Object number51.7
Current Location
The Audrey Jones Beck Building
221 Shell Oil Gallery
On view
Explore Further
Department
Arts of Europe and the MediterraneanObject Type
"Painting is done to decorate walls. So it should be as rich as possible. For me a picture . . . should be something likeable, joyous, and pretty—yes, pretty." —Pierre-Auguste Renoir
In this complex arrangement of luxurious objects, Pierre-Auguste Renoir has created a work that is both pleasing and intriguing. With his characteristically delicate touch, the Impressionist master evokes rich textures in a sumptuous color harmony of umber, yellow, red, and white. Not surprisingly, Renoir's favorite painters were Francois Boucher and Jean-Honorè Fragonard, 18th-century artists who specialized in pretty paintings produced for an audience that was concerned, above all, with pleasure. The most directly referenced influence in Still Life with Bouquet, however, is the tradition of Realism that édouard Manet was so thrillingly reviewing at the time. The print hanging on the wall is Manet's etched reproduction of Little Cavaliers by the 17th-century Spanish master of Realism, Diego Velazquez.
Provenance[Bernheim-Jeune, Paris, no. 8447]; [Ambroise Vollard, Paris, until 1935]; [Gaston Bernheim de Villers, Paris]; [Bignou Gallery, New York, from c. 1941–May 16, 1946]; [M. Knoedler & Co., New York, 1946-1948]; purchased by Mrs. Robert Lee (Sarah Campbell) Blaffer, Houston, October 1, 1948; the Robert Lee Blaffer Memorial Collection; given to the MFAH by Sarah Campbell Blaffer, 1951.
Exhibition History"Exposition d'Art Francais," Zürich, 1917.
"Paintings from the Ambroise Vollard Collection, XIX-XX Centuries," The Knoedler Galleries, New York, November, 1933.
"Paintings from the Ambroise Vollard Collection," The Arts and Crafts Club of Detroit, December, 1933.
"Renoir Exhibition," Reid and Lafevre Galleries, London, June, 1935.
"Renoir Centenary Exhibition," Bignou Gallery, New York, March 10–29, 1941.
"Exhibition of Paintings by Pierre Auguste Renoir," The California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, November 1–30, 1944.
"French Still Life from Chardin to Cezanne," Seligmann-Helft Galleries, New York, October 29–November 22, 1947.
"History of Still Life and Flower Painting," Montclair Art Museum, New Jersey, February 22–March 28, 1948.
"Pierre Auguste Renoir," Los Angeles County Museum of Art, July 14–August 21, 1955; San Francisco Museum of Art, September 1–October 2, 1955.
"Still Life Painting," Milwaukee Art Institute, September 6, 1956; Cincinnati Art Museum, November 6, 1956.
"Renoir," Wildenstein Gallery, New York, April 8–May 10, 1958.
"Masterpieces of Art," Century 21 Exposition, Seattle World's Fair, April 21–September 4, 1962.
"Texas Collectors," Marlborough-Gerson Gallery Inc., New York, November 19–December 20, 1964.
"Paintings by Renoir," Art Institute of Chicago, February 3–April 1, 1973.
"Japonisme: Japanese Influence on French Art 1854-1910," Cleveland Museum of Art, July 9–August 31, 1975; Rutgers University Art Gallery, New Brunswick, New Jersey, July 9, 1975–January 26, 1976; Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, December 10, 1975–January 26, 1976.
"L'Exposition Auguste Renoir au Japan," Museum of Art, Tokyo, September 22–November 6, 1979; Kyoto Municipal Museum, Japan, November 11–December 9, 1979.
"A Permanent Heritage: Major Works from the Collection," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, October 23, 1980–January 4, 1981.
"Hearts and Flowers," The Art Center, Waco, Texas, April 4–May 9, 1982.
"Renoir," Hayward Gallery (Arts Council of Great Britain), London, January 30–April 21, 1985; Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais, Paris, May 15–September 2, 1985; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, October 9, 1985–January 6, 1986.
"Renoir Retrospective Exhibition," Nagoya City Art Museum, Japan, October 15–December 11, 1988; Hiroshima Museum of Art, Japan, December 17, 1988–February 12, 1989; Nara Prefectural Museum of Art, Japan, February 18–April 9, 1989.
"Renoir: Master Impressionist," Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, July 30–September 11, 1994; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, September 18–October 30, 1994; Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, November 5, 1994–January 15, 1995.
"Auguste Renoir," Kunsthalle Tübingen, Germany, January 20–May 26, 1996.
“Masterpieces of European Painting from the 15th to 20th Centuries from the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Sarah Campbell Blaffer Foundation," Museum of Art, Ehime, Matsuyama, Japan, April 13–May 30, 1999; Chiba Prefectural Art Museum, Japan, June 5–July 11, 1999; Mie Prefectural Art Museum, Tsu, Japan, July 17–August 22, 1999; Fukuoka Art Museum, Japan, August 27–October 3, 1999.
"Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Still-Life Painting," Phillips Collection, Washington, September 22, 2001–January 13, 2002; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, February 17–June 9, 2002.
"Idol of the Moderns: Pierre-Auguste Renoir and American Painting," San Diego Museum of Art, June 29–September 15, 2002.
"Manet and Impressionsim," Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, September 21, 2002–February 9, 2003.
"Renoir and Algeria," Dallas Museum of Art, July 15–September 7, 2003.
"Inspiring Impressionism," High Museum of Art, Atlanta, October 13, 2007–January 13, 2008; Denver Art Museum, February 23–May 25, 2008; Seattle Art Museum, June 19–September 21, 2008.
"Renoir. The Early Years," Kunstmuseum, Basel, April 1–August 12, 2012.
"Japanese Inspirations - Monet, Gauguin, van Gogh...," Museum Folkwang, Essen, Germany, September 27, 2014–February 1, 2015; Kunsthaus Zürich, February 20–May 25, 2015.
"Japonismes Impressionnismes," Musée des impressionnismes, Giverny, France, March 30–July 15, 2018.
"Prado 1819–2019," Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, November 19, 2018–March 10, 2019.
"Manet und Astuc: Künstlefreunde," Kunsthalle Bremen, Germany, October 23, 2021–February 27, 2022.
"Renoir: Rococo Revival," Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main, March 2–June 19, 2022.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Lower right: A. Renoir - 71
Cataloguing data may change with further research.
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