In contrast to his earlier works, the compositions created by the painter in the mid-19th century are characterized by a sharpening of the contour. Brushstrokes become more delicate, the texture smoother, and the paint, although applied thickly in some places, gains luminosity. An excellent example of this new technique is “Girl with a Hoop,” a large portrait of the nine-year-old Marie Goujon. The painting was commissioned by the father of the portrayed, Étienne Goujon, and the artist painted it in 1885. The portrait depicts a dark-haired girl dressed festively in a blue dress tied with a blue sash against a backdrop of lush vegetation. The portrayed girl holds a hoop in her hands and gazes expectantly at the viewer. Such portraits depicting young women and girls from the upper echelons of Parisian society were part of the painter’s repertoire and were often commissioned.
The canvas ended up many years later in the hands of E. Chapuis, the model’s husband, who sold the portrait through the renowned gallery of Paul Rosenberg in 1920. In 1921, the painting was presented at an exhibition of French Impressionist painting organized by Rosenberg at the Wildenstein & Company gallery in New York. The next owner of the canvas was Marquis de Rochecouste from Paris. The portrait then passed through several well-known salons that facilitated the sale of works of art: Bernheim-Jeune, Knoedler & Co., and the Thannhauser gallery.
“The Girl with a Hoop” came into the possession of Max Silberberg before 1931, and in 1932, the painting was sold at an auction of several works from his collection at Georges Petit in Paris. It then came into the possession of Chester Dale, a well-known American banker and art collector, a great admirer of French painting. In 1943, he donated a significant part of his collection to the National Gallery of Art in Washington. After his death in 1962, according to his will, additional masterpieces were bequeathed to the Washington museum, including Renoir’s painting, formerly owned by Max Silberberg. The painting can be admired there today as part of the permanent exhibition.
Painting Information:
oil on canvas, dimensions: 125.7 x 76.6 cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington.
Literature:
Karl Scheffler, Die Sammlung Max Silberberg, „Kunst und Künstler“, 30 (1931), s. 3-18.