Child with a Biscuit (Jean Renoir c. 1899

Curator: Ah, this piece has a delicate, fleeting quality to it. Editor: Yes, it evokes such intimacy, like a glimpse into a private, familial moment. What are we looking at? Curator: This color lithograph is titled "Child with a Biscuit (Jean Renoir)", made circa 1899 by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, on display here at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Editor: It's more textural than I anticipated. The surface isn't smooth but a field of interlocking strokes, almost like an open weave that defines the shape of this toddler's face, large bonnet and simple dress. There are pencil-like lines. Curator: The overall impression Renoir achieves, as we see with a great deal of Impressionist prints, emerges through his specific treatment of line, shape, and color. Editor: The muted palette is striking – pinks, grays, and browns delicately combine to construct this chubby cheeked figure against a darker green ground. It almost seems casual, spontaneous... yet the color lithography would have been rather complex, requiring multiple plates. The very accessibility of prints allowed art to become part of a more bourgeois sphere. Curator: Exactly, printmaking was fundamental for broadening the reception of Impressionism, though there were concerns among critics about originality and mass production impacting the concept of ‘art.’ The domestic intimacy that defines Renoir's portraits like this offered sentimental family life to be cherished. This connects art to new middle-class domestic life. Editor: And looking closely at the figure's hands. The biscuit the child holds becomes almost luminous against the softness of their flesh. A simple thing, yet so important in fixing this passing stage of life and this moment of time for Renoir’s offspring. The gesture and texture, really capture a transient feeling. Curator: It is really impressive that, through these specific techniques, this color lithograph is evocative of capturing childhood fleeting and impermanent experiences, even fragility. Editor: I agree, I can see the nuances in values and tones, reflecting a delicate tenderness. Curator: Overall, Renoir captures the mood so effectively. A masterwork indeed.