Study of a Nude Woman, Seated, Variant (Étude de femme nue, assise, variante) from Twelve Original Lithographs by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (Douze lithographies originales de Pierre-Auguste Renoir)

Study of a Nude Woman, Seated, Variant (Étude de femme nue, assise, variante) from Twelve Original Lithographs by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (Douze lithographies originales de Pierre-Auguste Renoir) is a defining example of the French master’s late-career figure work. This print, executed by Pierre-Auguste Renoir around 1904 and formally published in 1919 as part of a highly regarded portfolio, captures the artist’s enduring fascination with the unadorned female form. Utilizing the lithographic process, Renoir transferred the soft, diffused light and massing characteristic of his oil painting technique into the realm of graphic art.

The work depicts a seated nude woman, rendered through delicate yet assured line work and sophisticated tonal variation. Unlike the vibrant coloration of his earlier Impressionist canvases, this piece relies on the subtle interplay of shadow and contour to lend volume and vitality to the subject. Renoir treats the figure not merely as an anatomical study but as a classical, monumental presence, continuing the long tradition of French academic figure painting while adapting it to modern sensibilities. The spontaneity evident in the sketching technique reflects the immediacy often associated with the drawing process.

This lithograph is one of twelve original prints compiled in the significant portfolio assembled by Ambroise Vollard, designed to showcase the breadth of Renoir’s printmaking expertise during his mature period. The artist's continued dedication to exploring the nude figure in these late works solidified his reputation as a foundational figure in modern art. The specific example of Study of a Nude Woman, Seated, Variant is held within the extensive collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), highlighting its importance in the history of prints. Because of its age and cultural status, high-quality images of this piece, originally produced around c. 1904, published 1919, are now widely accessible through public domain art initiatives.