Splashing Figure (Study for "The Large Bathers")
1884/85
Medium
Red, white, and black chalk, with stumping, and black Conté crayon on tan wove (tracing) paper, laid down on canvas
Dimensions
98.9 × 63.5 cm (38 15/16 × 25 in.)
Classification
chalk
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
65814
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of Pierre-Augusteoir with *Splashing Figure (Study "The Large Bathers*, a dynamic preparatory drawing from 1884/85. Created during Renoir's pivotal transition from loose Impressionist brushwork to a more classical, sculptural approach inspired by masters like Ingres and Rubens, this work captures a nude figure in joyful motion, water splashing around her form. It served as a key study for Renoir's monumental oil painting *The Large Bathers* (1887), now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, marking his exploration of monumental nudes and harmonious compositions. Render...
About the Artist
Pierre-Auguste Renoir · 1841–1919
Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) was a founding figure of Impressionism whose luminous depictions of Parisian leisure, sensuous female forms, and sun-dappled landscapes made him one of the most beloved painters in Western art history. Born in Limoges to a working-class family, Renoir began as a porcelain painter before pursuing fine arts, and this early craft experience gave him facility with the...