''Woman with Parakeet'' (french: La Femme à la perruche) is a painting by Pierre-Auguste Renoir created in 1871. It is in the holdings of the

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, often referred to as The Guggenheim, is an art museum at 1071 Fifth Avenue on the corner of East 89th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It is the permanent home of a continuously exp ...

in New York as part of the Thannhauser Collection. The painting portrays model

Lise Tréhot Lise Tréhot (14 March 1848 – 12 March 1922) was a French art model who posed for artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir from 1866 until 1872, during his early Salon period. She appeared in more than twenty paintings, including notable works such as ...

, who posed for Renoir in over twenty paintings during the years 1866 to 1872.

Context

Though the painting's date of creation has been a subject of debate, it is now agreed that ''Woman with Parakeet'' was created after Renoir returned from serving in the Franco-Prussian War, and likely after the events of the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended ...

in 1871. Previous publications dated the painting to 1865. In 1912, in a letter to Joseph Durand-Ruel, Renoir identified the painting as an image of

created "no later than 1871." ''Woman with Parakeet'' was never exhibited in the Paris Salon. In 1871, the year the work was painted, there was no Salon Exhibition due to the Franco-Prussian War. In 1872, Renoir's submission '' Parisian Women in Algerian Costume'' was rejected.

Subject

''Woman with Parakeet'' is believed to be one of the final paintings depicting Renoir's close companion

before the model ended her relationship with Renoir and married the architect Georges Brière de L'Isle. Lise's black taffeta dress with white cuffs and a red sash is likely the same dress worn by the model in ''Lise in a White Shawl.'' The room depicted in the painting displays typical interior design of the Third Republic, characterized by dark heavy colors and greenery. Throughout the history of art, countless images of women with birds have foregrounded the intimacy and emotional bond between human and animal. The subject of a woman with a parrot or parakeet was particularly common in paintings during this period of time. In many cases, this imagery is symbolic in nature, at times referencing the woman as vacuous and mimicking others, or carrying erotic connotations that relate the caged bird to the caged woman. This subject matter previously appeared in works by artists

Gustave Courbet Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( , , ; 10 June 1819 – 31 December 1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and ...

and

Édouard Manet Édouard Manet (, ; ; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism. Bo ...

. In ''Woman with Parakeet'', however, the analogy between the woman and her pet bird is comparatively understated. The rich yet stifling interior restricts the model's space, like that of the parakeet when confined to its gilded cage. The model's elaborate, ruffled dress and its bright red "plumage" resonate visually with the bird's own brightly colored feathers. The parakeet might also be characterized as playing the traditional role of confidant to the woman. Unlike the other artists, Renoir's subject is placed in a realistically modern setting and his model is unpretentious in her looks and dress. This work is considered an early work of

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

, characterized by the broad, loosely-handled painting technique.

Provenance

Pierre-Auguste Renoir - Lise in a White Shawl - 1985

Since 1978, ''Woman with Parakeet'' has been in the collection of the

and has been on semi-permanent view in the museum's Thannhauser Gallery. The painting was donated to the museum by collector-dealer Justin K. Thannhauser and exists as part of the Thannhauser Collection. Ambroise Vollard, an art dealer and personal friend of Renoir, was likely the first possessor of the painting. After a succession of subsequent owners, ''Woman with Parakeet'' was acquired by the Galerien Thannhauser ( Justin K. Thannhauser, proprietor) in 1927.

References

External links

''Woman with Parrot''
Guggenheim Collection {{Pierre-Auguste Renoir 1871 paintings Birds in art Impressionism Paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir Paintings in the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

Context

Subject

Provenance

See also

References

External links