Head of a Young Girl

Head of a Young Girl is a representative example of the small-scale female head studies Renoir produced throughout his career as independent works rather than preparatory sketches. These studies occupy an ambiguous position between portraiture and figure painting — the model is specific enough to have been a real person, but her anonymity places her within a tradition of types rather than named individuals. By the 1890s Renoir had refined this format to a reliable vehicle for his chromatic interests, the young female face offering the combination of fresh skin, bright eyes, and expressive hair that most engaged his sensory attention.

The girl's face is modelled with Renoir's characteristic warm-flesh technique: a base of warm ochre, built up with rose touches on cheeks and lips, with cooler grey-rose in the shadow areas. Hair is handled with faster, more linear strokes than the face. The background provides a warm, indeterminate surround that does not disturb the luminosity of the skin.