Portrait of a Man (Monsieur Charpentier)

Georges Charpentier was a major Parisian publisher and passionate champion of the Impressionists; his wife Marguerite Charpentier's salon was central to Impressionist social life. This 1879 Barnes Foundation portrait of Monsieur Charpentier himself shows the man who commissioned and purchased some of Renoir's most important works of the period. Renoir's celebrated 'Madame Charpentier and Her Children' caused a sensation at the Salon of 1879. This more informal portrait of Georges himself is less well known but equally direct and revealing, showing the publisher in an unguarded, relaxed posture.

Renoir places Charpentier in a three-quarter pose with a dark, neutral background that emphasizes the figure. The handling is confident and direct — Renoir's Impressionist brushwork softened slightly for a commissioned portrait's requirements. The palette is warm, with the face receiving the most careful attention while the suit is rendered more summarily.