The Pinned Hat and the Bather

"The Pinned Hat and the Bather" by Pierre Auguste Renoir French, 1841-1919, is a notable example of the artist's engagement with graphic arts during his late career. Executed between 1900 and 1910, this work is classified as a print, specifically a lithograph in black ink applied to thick grayish-ivory wove paper. Renoir, primarily celebrated as a master of Impressionist painting, increasingly turned to printmaking during this decade as a vital means of exploring his core artistic concerns, particularly as his physical mobility became restricted.

The subject matter aligns with Renoir's sustained commitment to depicting the female form. The composition features two figures whose interaction suggests an intimacy characteristic of the artist's late style, which often focused on idealized bathers and domestic scenes. Though the work is monochromatic, the artist utilized the lithographic technique skillfully to achieve delicate tonal gradations and a soft, volumetric quality. This effect lends the figures a robust, classical modeling, demonstrating Renoir’s shift away from the strict tenets of Impressionism toward a more timeless approach.

Created in France during the early 20th century, the print reflects an enduring French artistic tradition of representing idyllic femininity. The ability of the lithograph medium to capture subtle nuances allowed Renoir to maintain a painterly aesthetic even within the confines of black-and-white printmaking. The work remains a significant document of the artist's final phase, showcasing his adaptability across media. This particular impression of the lithograph resides in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, and as a creation of a French master who passed in 1919, high-resolution images of this influential print are widely available in the public domain.