ut of less than thirty paintings done in Algeria, Renoir created seventeen figure paintings, most of which were done during his second trip to Algeria. For him, getting used to this Arab country meant he was better able to find what he really wanted to paint: women. There were intrinsic problems with Renoir’s passion for figure painting in this Muslim country, though. Not only did Muslims traditionally not depict people in their art, but more importantly, it was almost taboo for a woman to pose for a portrait (Benjamin, Renoir 84). Regardless of these cultural constraints, however, Renoir pursued that seductive Algerian and formed the natives to the image which had existed in his mind since the 1870’s.
In L’Algerienne (1883), Renoir decked a young girl in jewels and traditional costume. If it weren’t for these luxurious accents and the title of the painting, however, it would be nearly impossible to identify this young girl as Algerian. In fact, she was a French girl, the daughter of writer Louis Fourcaud (Benjamin, Renoir 88). This was painted during his second trip to Algeria, thus Renoir was clearly unable to leave behind those images of French women that had so characterized his career, even when located in a country like Algeria. He brought himself to the point of painting French women and putting them under misleading titles such as L’Algerienne.
While most of his figure paintings followed in the style of L’Algierenne, Renoir also painted indigenous Algerian women when he got the chance. At first glance, Algerian Woman and Child (1882) shows that while Renoir most certainly fixated on women in Algeria, he was not completely uninterested in painting them in a culturally accurate way. Upon closer inspection, however, Renoir’s biases come through once again. The woman and her child’s skin color are not quite as dark as an Algerian’s skin would be (Benjamin, Renoir 98), and their facial features make them seem like tanned Europeans. In addition, Roger Benjamin points out that the golden accents on their costumes were likely added by Renoir, given his “recollection on the ability of the Algerian light to transform the appearance of tattered local people into more princely visions” (Benjamin, Renoir 98). This is another manifestation of Renoir’s inclination to idealize his Algerian women subjects, making them more ornate and feminine according to his own standards.
Looking back to Renoir’s Orientalist paintings, created before he even visited Algeria, it becomes clear what kind of vision Renoir really had when he ventured out to Algeria. His Parisian Women in Algerian Costume (1872) resembles a harem of dark haired yet porcelain skinned Orientals. Inspired by other Orientalist artists (notably Delacroix), this kind of interpretation sprung from both that cultural construct of the West as well as Renoir’s own fetishes. It marries beautiful women with exotic locations, a construct which Renoir did not exactly find in Algeria. This preconception is what led him to paint real Algerians as he wanted to see them, rather than as they were.
Images: Renoir, Auguste. L’Algerienne. Location uknown, courtesy Lefevre Gallery, London.
Renoir, Auguste. Algerian Woman and Child. Private Collection.
Renoir, Auguste. Parisian Women in Algerian Costume. The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo.