Galerie Durand-Ruel, Paris
Private Collection, Switzerland
Sale: Galerie Motte, Geneva, 27th November 1965, lot 71
Purchased at the above sale by the late owner

London, Marlborough Fine Art, Renoir, An Exhibition of Paintings from European Collections in aid of the Renoir Foundation, 1956, no. 11, illustrated in the catalogue

The canvas is lined. There is a thin layer of varnish preventing UV light from fully penetrating, however UV examination reveals one vertical line of retouching (approximately 6cm) to the upper part of the left edge and two further fine lines of retouching to the lower part of the left edge. There are some scattered fine lines of stable craquelure, predominantly to the upper right quadrant and some scattered areas of shrinkage in places, probably due to the lining process. There are also very faint stretcher-bar lines towards the upper edge. This work is in overall fairly good condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Vue du Mourillon is a serene and evocative vision embodies the fresh spontaneity of Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s later plein-air painting. Painted in 1890, the present work depicts a lush landscape in the Southern Mediterranean with rich green foliage, feathery vibrant blue brushstrokes and a sailboat visible in the distance. Unlike Camille Pissarro and Claude Monet who often depicted labourers in landscapes, Renoir preferred to focus on scenes of leisure. Discussing Renoir’s landscapes from this period and how they helped to shape the rest of his career, John House comments that Renoir’s paintings of the early 1890s were characterised by a 'softer more supple handling... This harmonious interrelation of man and nature became a central theme in Renoir’s late work’ (Renoir (exhibition catalogue), Hayward Gallery, London; Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais, Paris & Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1985-86, p. 262).

The late nineteenth century was a particularly prosperous time for Renoir, during which he began to achieve a degree of economic success. By this time, Renoir had become recognised as one of the foremost Impressionist painters and received a significant degree of financial support from the dealer Paul Durand-Ruel. This newfound financial freedom allowed him to paint en plein-air with greater frequency, finding that the freshness of natural light was much more desirable to studio work. Vue du Mourillon is a vivid and bright composition created during this period of artistic growth. During this time, Renoir travelled to the south of France annually, motivated in part by his weakening health but also in search of fresh inspiration for new paintings. In a letter to Durand-Ruel, towards the end of one of his stays in the Mediterranean, Renoir comments on the glorious weather and his newfound delight in plein-air painting: ‘I am cramming myself with sunshine!’ He continued, ‘This landscape painter's craft is very difficult for me, but these three months will have taken me further than a year in the studio. Afterwards I'll come back and be able to take advantage at home of my experiments’ (quoted in Barbara Ehrlich White, Renoir: His Life, Art, and Letters, New York, 1984, p. 191).

The present work was acquired from Galerie Motte in 1965 by Annemarie Düringer and has remained in her family’s collection until the present day. A Swiss actress of extraordinary beauty, Düringer was a member of the prestigious Vienna Burgtheater where she was known for her portrayal of Queen Elisabeth in Schiller’s Maria Stuart.