Femme nue couchee (tournée a droite)

1906. Etching. Printed on laid paper. Later impression from the original plate. In pristine condition. Image size: 5 1/8 x 7 ½ inches. Son of a tailor and dressmaker, Renoir moved with his family from Limoges to Paris in 1844. He was apprenticed to a porcelain manufacturer from 1854 to 1858, where he painted rococo-style decorations. In 1862-63 he attended the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in the studio of Charles Gleyre, where he met Sisley, Pissarro, Monet, and Fantin-Latour. Renoir first exhibited at the Salon in 1864 and began at about this time to work out-of-doors. Courbet, Corot, and Daubigny were important early influences, although his progress toward a more vivid and sketchy style was encouraged by the work of Monet and Manet. He participated in the first impressionist exhibition of 1874 but subsequently in only the second, third, and seventh group shows. In 1881-82 Renoir traveled to Algeria and Italy, where his exposure to ancient and Renaissance art led him to introduce into his impressionism a new linear and sculptural direction. After years of financial struggle, a retrospective at Durand-Ruel in 1892 signaled greater popular success. Although his health began to fail in the late nineties, Renoir continued to paint and even experiment with sculpture until his death.

Delteil, Loys. Le peintre-graveur illustré, vol. XVII, no. 14; Biographical description taken from the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco.