Standing Bather

"Standing Bather" is a significant etching created by Pierre Auguste Renoir French, 1841-1919, during his late period, generally dated between 1905 and 1915. This classification as a print, rendered using the etching technique on tan laid paper, reveals the artist's continued engagement with graphic arts alongside his famous oil painting practice. Though renowned primarily as an Impressionist master, Renoir explored the distinct textural and tonal qualities of intaglio printing throughout his later life.

The subject of the bather became a dominant theme for the artist in the final decades of his career. Unlike the socially engaged figures of his earlier work, the bathers from this era are idealized, classical nudes, often divorced from specific narrative context. This piece, executed in France, emphasizes volume and form, reflecting Renoir’s shift toward Neoclassical stability influenced by his study of Renaissance masters. The figure’s stance is monumental yet languid, defined by fine etched lines that focus on contour and mass. The warm tone of the laid paper contributes a sense of skin and atmosphere often associated with the sun-drenched canvases of the period.

This exceptional print, documenting Renoir's mature handling of the female form in the medium of etching, is held in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. As a pivotal late work by the French master, the existence of multiple prints of this theme helps ensure broad availability, with many entering the public domain, allowing continued study of the artist’s aesthetic transformation.