Portrait of Misia Sert (Jeune femme au griffon)

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FROM THE BARNES FOUNDATION’S CATALOG

A muse, tastemaker, and patron of the arts in turn-of-the-century Paris, Misia was a trained concert pianist from an artistic family of Polish-Belgian descent in Russia. Renoir portrays this famed beauty and salon hostess with a lush sensuality—her plunging neckline, accentuated with blossoms, shows off the pearlescent skin of her bust; the rounded cushion or sofa arm that she leans on echoes her soft curves; and a dog, strategically positioned, sits contentedly in her lap.

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