Arab Woman
Artist
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
(French, 1841–1919)
Date1882
Mediumoil on canvas
Dimensionscanvas: 29.8 × 24 cm (11 3/4 × 9 7/16 in.)
framed: 45.1 × 39.4 × 7.6 cm (17 3/4 × 15 1/2 × 3 in.)
framed: 45.1 × 39.4 × 7.6 cm (17 3/4 × 15 1/2 × 3 in.)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1935.8
Label TextIn 1881 and 1882, Renoir travelled to Algeria, which was a French colony at the time. This half-length portrait of an Arab woman was completed during his second trip. Renoir’s Algerian paintings demonstrate an interest in local dress and scenes popular with Orientalist artists—Westerners who represented Asian or Middle Eastern cultures, with a focus on subjects they perceived as exotic—as well as an Impressionist use of color to convey light. Here, he describes the atmosphere with white highlights and pale blue shadows. Patterned tiles, which are typical of North African architecture, appear above the woman’s left shoulderProvenanceMrs. Otis M. Riggs, Beverly MA, purchased by the Worcester Art Museum, 1935.On View
Not on view
