Seated Female Nude, Profile View (Femme nue assise, vue de profil)

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FROM THE BARNES FOUNDATION’S CATALOG

Renoir often painted this motif of a draped nude seated in a colorful interior. Though he would vary the staging of fabrics and objects, these decorative elements were meant to harmonize with the figure in both color and form. The bound red curls of the sitter's coiffure mimic the shape of the flower buds on a nearby straw hat as well as the color of the red-orange rug and cushion below. The direction of brushstrokes on the vivid wall hangings echoes the ridges of her back.

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