Portrait of Adèle Besson

Pierre-Auguste Renoir · 1918

Painted in the last full year of Renoir's life, this small portrait of a smiling woman with black hair and a rose glows with quiet warmth.

The story behind the painting

Renoir painted the Portrait of Adele Besson in 1918, in oil. The sitter was the wife of George Besson, and the work belongs to the painter's late period, which Wikipedia places between 1892 and 1919. Those were hard years for him. According to the Wikipedia article on Renoir, he developed rheumatoid arthritis around 1892, which caused deformities in his hands and stiffened his right shoulder. In 1907 he moved to Les Collettes, a farm at Cagnes-sur-Mer near the Mediterranean, seeking a warmer climate. He kept painting; he could still grasp a brush, though an assistant had to place it in his hand. He died at Cagnes-sur-Mer on 3 December 1919, the year after this portrait.

What to look for

The canvas is small, 41 by 36.8 cm, an intimate scale for a face meant to be met up close. Adele Besson sits, her black hair framing her face, her dark eyebrows drawn clearly above her eyes. She wears a shirt, black is part of the palette, and a rose adds a note of color. Most of all, she smiles. Wikidata lists these details among the painting's subjects, and together they make a simple, friendly image. Renoir's late manner, the Wikipedia article on the painter notes, returned to thinly brushed color, and the soft handling suits the gentle mood of a sitter at ease.

Meaning and intent

The sources do not tell us what Renoir intended with this portrait, so it is best to let the painting speak through its circumstances. An old artist, his hands deformed, painted the smiling face of a friend's wife within a year of his own death. The painting is described as Post-Impressionist and represents his late period. Seen this way, the portrait becomes a small act of persistence, proof that the pleasure of looking at a face, a dark head of hair and a rose had not left him, even when holding the brush had become difficult.

Legacy

The portrait's afterlife is tied to the Besson couple. They gave a large bequest of early twentieth century art to the Museum of Fine Arts and Archaeology in Besancon, and this picture is part of it. The collection was so significant that the museum building was expanded, including a central staircase by Louis Miquel, a student of Le Corbusier. Wikidata lists both the Besancon museum and the Musee National d'Art Moderne as holders of the work, while Wikipedia places it in the Besancon bequest. Either way, Adele Besson's smile now greets visitors alongside the collection she helped bring there.

Lo sapevi?

Painted in 1918, in Renoir's late period, 1892-1919 (Wikipedia)
Part of the Besson bequest to the Besancon museum (Wikipedia); Wikidata also lists the Musee National d'Art Moderne
Size 41 x 36.8 cm (Wikidata)

Wikipedia · Wikipedia (Pierre-Auguste Renoir) · Wikidata