''The Cup of Chocolate'' is an oil on canvas painting by the French artist
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "R ...
(1841–1919), featuring a model known as
Margot Margot (; ) is a feminine French given name, a variant of Marguerite. It is also occasionally a surname. Persons named Margot include the following:
People with the given name Margot
* Margot Asquith, countess of Oxford and Asquith
* Marguerite ...
. The painting, dated between 1877 and 1878, depicts a portrait of a young French bourgeois woman drinking either coffee or chocolate in a setting of luxury. Formerly held by private collectors, the painting was acquired by the
Louvre Abu Dhabi in 2022.
Background
Like the rest of the Impressionists at this time, Renoir was not having much success with his exhibitions.
[Rewald 1961, p. 416.] He decided to change directions and declined to submit any works to the Impressionist exhibition in March 1878, choosing to submit ''The Cup of Chocolate'' to the Salon that same year instead. This choice gave Renoir the opportunity to pursue new clientele, leading to new portrait commissions. Renoir told art dealer
Paul Durand-Ruel (1831–1922), "There are in Paris scarcely fifteen art-lovers capable of liking a painting without Salon approval. There are 80,000 who won't buy an inch of canvas if the painter is not in the Salon...My submitting to the Salon is entirely a business matter."
Italian art critic
Diego Martelli
Diego Martelli (October 29, 1839 – November 20, 1896) was an Italian art critic who was one of the first supporters of Impressionism in Italy. He was a defender and associate of the Tuscan artists the Macchiaioli, whom he often hosted at his esta ...
declared that Renoir had "deserted" the Impressionists and was encouraged by French salonist and art collector
Marguerite Charpentier
Marguerite Charpentier (1 March 1848 – 30 November 1904) was a French salonist and art collector who was one of the earliest champions of the Impressionists, especially Pierre-Auguste Renoir.
Biography
She was born Marguerite Louise Lemonnier ...
to go back to the Salon of 1878. Renoir submitted the painting to the Salon under the title ''Le café''. It was accepted, but received little critical notice at the time.
Margot replaced
Lise Tréhot as Renoir's favorite model, but she died tragically at the age of 23 in 1879 from smallpox. After a period of grieving which prevented him doing any work, Renoir would find success just months later at the Salon of 1879 with ''
Madame Georges Charpentier and Her Children Madame may refer to:
* Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French
* Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel
* ''Madame'' ( ...
''. After Margot's death,
Aline Charigot
Aline Victorine Charigot (23 May 1859 – 27 June 1915) was a model for Auguste Renoir and later became his wife while continuing to model for him and then caring for him when he became disabled. She is pictured in many of his paintings over ver ...
began
sitting for Renoir, becoming his wife just several years later.
Related works
Two additional works from 1912 and 1914 with the title ''Cup of Chocolate'' are held by the Barnes Foundation.
[Lucy & House 2012, pp. 195, 330.]
Cup of Chocolate (Femme prenant du chocolat) (1912) by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Original from Barnes Foundation. Digitally enhanced by rawpixel. (50623851931).jpg, ''Cup of Chocolate (Femme prenant du chocolat)'' (1912)
Pierre-Auguste Renoir - Cup of Chocolate (La Tasse de chocolat) - BF40 - Barnes Foundation.jpg, ''Cup of Chocolate (La Tasse de chocolat)'' (1914)
See also
*
List of paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir
This is an incomplete list of paintings by Impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Renoir painted about 4000 paintings that have sold at auction for as much as $78.1 million (in 1990). The largest collection of Renoir paintings is at the Barn ...
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse (AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency.
AFP has regional headquarters in Nicosia, Montevideo, Hong Kong and Washington, D.C ...
(October 13, 2022)
"Louvre Abu Dhabi marks five years with major Impressionism show" ''
Kuwait Times''. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
*
Bailey, Colin B. (1997)
''Renoir's Portraits: Impressions of an Age'' Yale University Press. National Gallery of Canada. .
*
Distel, Anne (1999)
''Cézanne to Van Gogh: The Collection of Doctor Gachet'' The Metropolitan Museum of Art. .
*Lucy, Martha. John House (2012). ''Renoir in the Barnes Foundation''. Yale University Press. . .
*Monneret, Sophie (1990). ''Renoir''. Konecky & Konecky. . .
*Patry, Sylvie (2022)
"Impressionism: Pathways to Modernity" ''On Show''.
Louvre Abu Dhabi. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
*
Rewald, John (1961). ''The History of Impressionism''.
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues.
It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...
. .
*Strieter, Terry W. (1999)
''Nineteenth-century European Art: A Topical Dictionary'' Greenwood Press. .
*
Vollard, Ambroise (1925).
Renoir: An Intimate Record'. Trans. by Harold L. Van Doren and Randolph T. Weaver. Alfred A. Knopf. . .
*White, Barbara Ehrlich (2017)
''Renoir: An Intimate Biography'' Thames & Hudson. . .
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chocolate Cup, The
Portraits by Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Portraits of women
1878 paintings
Louvre Abu Dhabi
19th-century portraits
Food and drink paintings