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2 P I E R R E - A U G U S T E R E N O I R 1 8 4 1 - 1 9 1 9 Paysage à l'arbre, 1917 Initialled 'AR' lower right Oil on canvas 9 ⅛ x 6 ⅝ in, 23.1 x 16.9 cm Provenance Durand-Ruel, November 9, 1917 A. Segard, Paris (acquired from the above 13 October 1934) Edouard Berenguer (thence by descent) Literature This work is accompanied by a letter from the Wildenstein-Plattner Institute confirming the work will be included in the forthcoming Renoir digital catalogue raisonné Painted in 1917, Paysage à l'arbre exemplifies the fluidity of Renoir's later work that often borders on the abstract. Informed by the rich colours of the Mediterranean, the broad palette of this small canvas presents a pictorial language particular to that of his time in Cagnes-sur-Mer. Paysage à l'arbre becomes an archetype of Renoir's ability – through the swift vibrant brushstrokes he developed in the early 1900s – to capture the transient nature of his surroundings. Depicted on an intimate scale, Paysage a l'arbre is filled with as much drama, movement and vitality as Renoir's larger paintings. The enigmatic brushwork varies from thick daubes of impasto to gentle washes of colour, while the vibrant tones create a depth, richness and texture to the landscape. During this period Renoir split his time between Essoyes in Champagne and his house, Les Colletes, in Cagnes – the likely location of the present painting. In 1916, the year before creating Paysage à l'arbre, Renoir declared to his friend Ambroise Vallard, "I think this time I've got the secret of painting!… What a pity that every bit of progress one makes is only a step towards the grave! If I could only live long enough to do a masterpiece". Some of Renoir's other paintings from 1917 are in major collections, such as Paysage (Barnes Foundation, Philadephia), Woman in a Hat with Flowers (Artizon Museum, Tokyo) and Odalisque Dormant (Museé d'Orsay, Paris).