At around the same time Jean’s hair was cut, Renoir’s youngest son Claude, called “Coco”, was born, and Renoir soon took up feminizing “Coco” where he left off with Jean, even going so far as to give him a girly nickname. If anything, “Coco’s” appearance in his father’s portraits was more feminine than even Jean’s appearance was. After the cutting of Jean’s hair, “Coco” became the favorite child model of his father (White 219). Renoir painted more portraits of “Coco” than of either of his other two sons. Jean described “Coco” for this reason as, “One of the most prolific inspirations my father ever had.” (qtd. Bradley 236) While the sheer number of portraits is one indication, Renoir’s manner of treating his youngest son also reflects this sentiment. He positively doted on “Coco”. In one letter to his wife he said, “I am very glad to know Cloclo [another of his nicknames] is doing well. He should have the milk he likes.” (White 219) This indulgent father was a far cry from the man seventeen years before who did not publicly acknowledge his son for years. Thus, it is no surprise that Renoir devoted so much energy, even in his sickly state, towards painting this son. Nevertheless, these paintings of Claude do not show the love one would expect from a father who was worried about the type of milk his son received. Instead they show a father intent on transforming his son by painting him as a girl. 
This feminization is evident even in early portraits of “Coco”. For example, in Claude and Renee (1903), which shows the baby with his nurse, Renoir toys with the viewer by giving his painting a title that is ambiguous as to which figure is which, because both the names “Claude” and “Renee” can be feminine just as well as masculine, and because there is nothing to indicate that there is even a difference in the genders of baby and nurse. Examining his portrayal of “Coco” here it becomes apparent that Renoir has feminized the boy by painting Coco’s bangs as longish and especially gold and reflective. Renoir even further feminized his son in his later portrait, Claude Playing (1905). He is no longer a baby in this painting, yet his hair is even longer than Jean’s ever was. It is tied in pigtails with a baby pink ribbon. Loose strands hang over his ears and fall into his face, and he has bangs. His hair is smooth and highly reflective, and it becomes clear that Renoir was playing with the light to best capture his son’s hair in the most flattering manner. Renoir even paints the background in splotches of colors that will set off his son’s hair and make it appear like “streaming gold.” (Gaunt 142) There is absolutely nothing masculine about Coco’s appearance in this picture. This is ironic, when one considers the fact that he is playing with toy soldiers, a masculine activity, but even these soldiers could be mistaken for dolls. Regardless, Claude’s hair has such a prominent role in this picture that the activity in which Claude is engaged is secondary. Renoir was able to make his son into a girl simply by painting such brilliant blonde hair. He carefully plans this effect, rather than painting his son as he actually was.
Above: Renoir, Pierre Auguste. Claude and Renee. Musée des beaux-arts du Canada.
Renoir, Pierre Auguste. Claude Playing. Musee National de I’Orangerie, Paris.