PIERRE-AUGUSTE RENOIR (French, 1841-1919). Buste de Coco, 1907-08. Original plaster. 11 inches (27.9 cm) high. Published...

Description

PIERRE-AUGUSTE RENOIR (French, 1841-1919)
Buste de Coco, 1907-08
Original plaster
11 inches (27.9 cm) high
Published by Hodebert, Paris & Flechtheim, Berlin

THE RENOIR COLLECTION

Coco was born in 1901 when Renoir was 60 years old and already showing signs of physical deterioration. This handsome, young blond child brought new energy to the life of an aging artist, as well as an endless source of inspiration. Coco was constantly at Renoir's side, and posed for the artist in all manners of dress and attitude. After Aline's death in 1915, Renoir built a potter's kiln at his home, Les Collettes to teach the child and his two other sons the art of ceramics. When Renoir passed away, Coco stood alone at his bedside. Renoir created the Buste de Coco with the hands of a father following a visit from Maillol, a master sculptor to Les Collettes. With love and tenderness, he sculpted the features, the shapes, the volume and the lines of this familiar face; and he accomplished his goal, for this youthful representation of his youngest son seems to evoke in the viewer the same feelings of innocence, curiosity and unconditional affection that inspired the artist almost a century ago. This bust and the medallion of Claude "Coco" Renoir are the only two sculptures Renoir executed entirely with his own hands, which were already partially paralyzed at the time.

LITERATURE:
P. Haesaerts, Renoir Sculptor, New York, 1947, p. 20, no. 2, illustrations of another cast pls. IV and XXXVI.

NOTE:
This original foundry plaster is not copyright protected.

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