There were times when he would put down his palette and gaze at her instead of painting, asking himself why he tried, since what he was trying to achieve was there already
-Georges Riviere.
Riviere explains Renoir’s complete infatuation with Aline Charigot, his future wife. She embodied perfection for Renoir. Renoir was extremely enthralled with Aline. He met her around 1880 and she changed his life. Before meeting her, he had wasted ten years of his life doubting himself and his profession (Renoir 206). She came along and restored confidence in him, telling him that he should paint no matter what other people thought or how his works were critiqued. She appealed to him because of her simplicity, sincerity, and consideration (Brodskaya 56). One significant aspect to recall about them is that there was a big age difference between them. Aline was nineteen and Renoir was close to forty years old when they met.
Renoir was very particular about his women, and Aline fit his every desire and preference. He liked women fat with small noses, wide mouths, thick lips, and small teeth. This could explain why Aline smiles with an open mouth in his paintings. Perhaps hers was the only mouth of Renoir’s liking out of his models. Thus, her teeth showed in his paintings through her thick smiling lips. Even in his other paintings of her, such as Boating Couple and Madame Renoir with Her Dog, she smiles with her teeth showing. There is no other pose for her. Renoir liked her in this fashion; it was his comfort zone.
Renoir, Auguste. Boating Couple (Aline Charigot and Renoir). Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. 1881.
Renoir, Auguste. Aline Charigot. Philadelphia Museum of Art. 1885.