Lise in a Straw Hat (Jeune fille au chapeau de paille)

Painted in 1866, this early work from the Barnes Foundation shows Lise Tréhot — Renoir's model and companion from 1865 to around 1872 — in a straw hat that provides the painting its informal, summery character. Lise was Renoir's primary model during his formative years and appeared in numerous major canvases of the late 1860s. This early portrait shows Renoir working in a realistic mode closer to Courbet than to the Impressionism he would develop in the following decade — the handling is more solid and the tonal contrasts stronger than his later work. It is an important document of his pre-Impressionist development.

Renoir uses a more academic technique than his mature style — firmer contours, stronger tonal contrasts, and less fragmentary brushwork. The straw hat is rendered with careful attention to its texture and structure. The face shows Renoir already capable of luminous, warm skin tones that would become his signature.