The Artist's Son, Jean, Drawing

The Artist's Son, Jean, Drawing shows Renoir's middle son absorbed in sketching — a domestic subject that fuses two of Renoir's deepest preoccupations: the physical beauty of childhood and the transmission of artistic vocation. Jean Renoir would go on to become one of the great filmmakers of the twentieth century, directing La Grande Illusion and The Rules of the Game. This canvas, painted in 1901 when Jean was about seven, preserves the boy before his extraordinary later life. The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts holds this as part of its notable French collection.

Renoir renders the boy's focused concentration through a warm, intimate palette. The soft dissolution of background forms keeps full attention on Jean's absorbed posture. Brushwork is characteristically feathery in the hair and clothing, with the face more carefully handled.