Bust of a Young Nude Woman

Bust of a Young Nude Woman, painted in 1886 and now at the Musée d'Orsay, belongs to the height of Renoir's harsh or dry manner — a phase in which he abandoned the broken brushwork of high Impressionism in favour of smooth, carefully modelled surfaces inspired by Raphael and the French classical tradition. The bust-length nude format, cutting off the figure at the waist or chest, concentrated the painting's investigation on the precise modelling of face, neck, shoulders, and upper torso. The Orsay's comprehensive Renoir holdings allow this dry-manner work to be seen in the context of his earlier Impressionist period and his later relaxation toward warmth.

Oil on canvas. The smooth surface of the 1886 Renoir is achieved through careful blending and multiple thin layers rather than the loaded, directional brushwork of his Impressionist phase. Contours are more precisely defined than in the preceding decade's work, the form's edge given a clarity that recalls academic modelling conventions.