# Romaine Lacaux

**Pierre-Auguste Renoir** (French, 1841–1919)  
1864  
oil on fabric  
Framed: 106.7 x 89.2 x 8.9 cm (42 x 35 1/8 x 3 1/2 in.); Unframed: 81.3 x 65 cm (32 x 25 9/16 in.)

Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1942.1065. [The museum's record](https://clevelandart.org/art/1942.1065).

## About this work

This painting may be Renoir's earliest signed canvas. Its sensitive display of color and light communicates an ideal of delicate, youthful beauty. The luminous tones of the background drapery and of the child's white blouse result from the artist's careful observation of reflected light and color on translucent materials. The delicate nuances of color, particularly in the young girl's face, reveal Renoir's previous training as a decorator of porcelain. He painted this portrait, commissioned by the vacationing Lacaux family, during his stay at an artist's colony in the village of Barbizon, near Paris.

_Text from the Cleveland Museum of Art._

Pierre-Auguste Renoir painted this in 1864, aged 23. It is now at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

### How it was made

- **Oil paint.** Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.

### [Pierre-Auguste Renoir](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/pierre-auguste-renoir)

French, 1841–1919; born in Limoges; died in Cagnes-sur-Mer

Renoir began as a painter of porcelain in Paris, then studied in Gleyre’s studio, where he met Monet, Sisley and Bazille. In the 1870s he was a central figure of Impressionism, painting Parisians at leisure in dappled light. A journey to Italy in 1881–82 led him towards firmer drawing and more classical compositions. Despite severe rheumatoid arthritis in later life he continued to paint, settling at Cagnes-sur-Mer on the Mediterranean, where he died.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Painting
- Culture: France, 19th century
- The artist was 23
- Real size: about 32 × 26 in (81 × 65 cm). The 20 × 30 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 19th century
- Movement: [Impressionism](https://www.ochreeditions.com/movements/impressionism)
- Colour: grey
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/549.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/549/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/romaine-lacaux-cma-121188).