Woman with Grapevine, 2nd variant

The influential print Woman with Grapevine, 2nd variant by Pierre Auguste Renoir (French, 1841-1919) exemplifies the artist's late-career immersion into graphic arts. Executed as a lithograph in black on delicate ivory Japanese paper, this highly sensitive piece was printed by Auguste Clot and published by the crucial Parisian dealer, Ambroise Vollard, during a prolific period spanning 1899 to 1909. Renoir often collaborated closely with Vollard to produce limited-edition prints, ensuring his designs and artistic vision reached a wider audience. This close tripartite relationship between the artist, master printer, and prominent publisher was central to the flourishing of fine art prints in France at the turn of the 20th century.

The subject matter depicts a sensual female figure interacting intimately with nature, clutching or observing the surrounding grapevine foliage—a recurrent and beloved motif in Renoir's oeuvre. While his early output focused heavily on Impressionist painting, this print maintains the fluid, sensuous lines and soft, volumetric modeling characteristic of his mature style. The choice of black lithography highlights the compositional structure and the subtle texture provided by the ivory Japanese paper, giving the figure an evocative, sculptural presence. While many of Renoir’s original compositions remain privately held, high-quality prints such as this have entered the public domain, making his graphic contributions widely studied. This important example of French printmaking history is held within the distinguished permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.