The Mystery of the Little Heroine from Renoir's Painting "Girl with a Cat"

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

One of the most famous artists painted many portraits of women, which for more than a century have attracted the attention of art lovers and are in the collections of the best museums in the world. Equally magnetic is Julie Manet's portrait "Girl with a Cat".

Renoir's biography

Pierre Auguste Renoir was born in Limoges on February 25, 1841. Since childhood, the future artist was forced to earn money in a porcelain workshop. In 1862, Renoir entered the School of Fine Arts at the Academy of Arts, where he met Monet. Renoir was later connected with the latter by a strong friendship and work in a single direction in art (impressionism).

Renoir and Monet together studied the artistic side of such a natural phenomenon as the reflection of water and developed their own technique of depicting this phenomenon using light strokes. Renoir received his first recognition in 1874 at the first large exhibition at Nadar, where he was noted as a portrait painter. Further, creatively rich trips to Algeria and Italy awaited him. At the end of his life, which he spent in the South of France, being paralyzed, he asked to put a brush in his hand so that he would continue to write. Such were his last words demanding to give him a palette and paints. Renoir gravitated towards the portrait genre, having painted many portraits of women of beauties. Back in Argenteuil, studying the reflection in water, the artist replaced the drawn line with light strokes. And he used the same technique not only in landscapes, but also in portraits of women. Renoir managed to create a truly new vision of a woman, making the light play on the face and clothes. Until the end of his life, Renoir was looking for female models. One of them was a young girl who became the heroine of the portrait "Girl with a Cat".

The history of the creation of the portrait

The painting "Girl with a Cat" depicts Edouard Manet's nine-year-old niece, daughter of his brother Eugene and artist Berthe Morisot. Julie's parents had known Renoir for many years and their friendship grew even stronger in the second half of the 1880s. Admiration for the artist's talent and many years of acquaintance with him convinced the couple to order a portrait of their daughter Julie in 1887. Looking at the child, Renoir noticed the girl's zest - the incredibly kind and deep eyes of little Julie. It is enough to see how the cat “smiles”, squinting with pleasure, in her tender arms. It seems as if at the moment of posing, she purrs in gratitude to her little mistress. The heroine holds the cat on her lap. Pierre had a special love for these animals, many of his works are portraits with various cats. To date, at least four preparatory drawings for the painting are known. Having made several variations of various positions of the model, Renoir quickly decided on the final composition.

The artist depicted a girl sitting in a large armchair. She is wearing a white dress with expensive gold trim on the chest and sleeves. The round child's face looks slightly to the side, while the gaze is not directed at the viewer. Julie recalled this process as follows: Renoir painted this portrait, in her words, “in small areas, which was unusual for him. When Degas saw the portrait, he spoke not very positively: "Depicting round faces, Renoir seems to be drawing flower pots." I must say that this new round in the work of Renoir, characterized by special attention to line and drawing and the use of bright colors, upset many of his close friends. But the main thing is that Julie's parents really liked the portrait.

The personality of the heroine

Julie Manet (November 14, 1878 - July 14, 1966) later became a French artist, model and art collector. The portrait of Julie Manet was the girl's first work as a model for Renoir. However, this was not the only time she posed for him. Renoir painted her portrait as a teenager in 1894. Julie Manet also appears in several paintings by her mother, artist Berthe Morisot, and posed for other Impressionist artists, including her uncle, Edouard Manet.

The only, desired and beloved child in the family, born in the creative environment of artists, the girl also grew up in the circle of the Impressionists. Close friends and associates of a couple of her parents, including Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Stéphane Mallarmé, later became her mentors and close friends. And suddenly this life full of colors and brightness was darkened by a series of tragedies … First, the father fell ill and died - this is happened shortly before, at the age of 15, Julie began to keep a diary, which became for her salvation from loneliness and depression. In March 1895, her beloved mother died. Three years later, another disaster struck her - the sudden death of her guardian Stefan Mallarmé. Reflection of sad events in the family and fascinating conversations about art with famous family friends were reflected in the girl's published diary "Grow up with the Impressionists", thanks to which Julie gained special fame. It gives a very clear picture of the life of French artists, as well as the state visit of Tsar Nicholas II in 1896 to Paris. It is noteworthy that her candid letters shed light on Renoir's personal views on patriotism and anti-Semitism. In May 1900, Julie married the painter and printmaker Ernest Roir, father and son of the painter Henri Roart. Interestingly, the wedding was a double ceremony in which Julie's cousin Jenin Gobillar married Paul Valerie on the same day. In the marriage of Julie and Ernest, three children were born: Julien (born in 1901), Clement (born in 1906) and Denis (born in 1908).

Thus, the work "Girl with a Cat" refers to a new period of the artist's work, which includes a rethinking of his creative path. A trip to Italy and an acquaintance with the Renaissance opened up new painting techniques for Renoir (Ingres's virtuoso creations, characterized by clear lines of drawing). Renoir saw in them the beauty of genuine art. Julie Manet's portrait is an excellent example of Renoir's exploration and innovation at the time. The painting is also successful in the sensitivity and affection that the artist reflected in the relationship between the heroine and the cat. The painting is now in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris.