During the time that Renoir lived portraits of children were becoming increasingly popular. (Gallati 9) Although it was popular for children to be dressed in gowns and have unshorn heads when they were babys, it is hard to find a portrait with a boy the same age as Jean in Child with a Hoop that looks as feminine as Jean does in that picture. Young boys soon began to wear boyish clothing, often ultra masculine costumes, and their hair was not allowed to grow as long as Jean’s or Coco’s.
Much more typical are portraits by Renoir’s contemporary John Singer Sargent. For example, Mrs. Edward L. Davis an her Son Livingston Davis (1890) makes clear even from the title of the painting that the child depicted is a son, not a daughter. Moreover, his name is much more masculine than “Jean” or “Coco”. Livingston has short hair that is covered partially by a straw hat and is wearing a white sailor’s outfit (very popular for young boys at the time) with a navy blue bandana around his neck and red knee-length boots. (Gallati 69)
Another portrait by Cecilia Beaux called Cecil Kent Drinker (1891) shows how some families used archaic costumes to make their sons appear ultra masculine, just the opposite of what Renoir achieved. In this portrait a young boy (younger than Jean or Coco in many of their long hair pictures) is dressed as a young prince, complete with brown armor, a helmet, and a sword or staff of some sort. This portrait was based on a portrait by Velazquez of a Spanish Prince (Galatti 81) rather than that of one of Velazquez’s Infantas, like many of Renoir’s portraits of his son were (Neret 384). While the rest of the world was painting young boys as masculine figures like sailors or princes, Renoir was painting his sons as girls.
Above: Sergant, John Singer. Mrs. Edward L. Davis an her Son Livingston Davis .
Cecilia Beaux. Cecil Kent Drinker . Ireland