Around 1880 -1915 · Family portrait, outdoors and impressionist gentleness

Pierre-Auguste Renoir paints childhood as a living presence: hats, games, gardens and family gestures bring together the freshness of the model, colorful light and the intimacy of everyday life.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir gives increasing importance to childhood as his family life is organized around Aline Charigot and their three sons, Pierre, Jean and Claude, known as Coco. It also represents the children of his friends and sponsors, without locking them into the solemnity of the official portrait. A hat, dress, toy or corner of the garden is enough to situate the age and temperament of the model. A hat, a dress, a toy or a corner of the garden is enough to situate the age and temperament of the model. A hat, a dress, a toy or a corner of the garden is enough to situate the age and temperament of the model. The supple touch circulates the colors between the skin, clothing and decor, while the look or movement retains an impression of a lived moment. In his late works, the shapes become rounder and the skin warmer. The child nevertheless remains an individual observed, both close, mobile and fully inscribed in the light. The "Children of Renoir" selection notably compares Portrait of a Child with a Hat and Portrait of a Child. His reading favors figures.

Renoir does not freeze the child in his costume: he lets the light, the gaze and the movement preserve something of the moment experienced.