Lise Tréhot

Lise Tréhot
Lise Tréhot
	Lise in 1864
Born	14 March 1848; Ecquevilly, Seine-et-Oise, France
Died	12 March 1922 (aged 73); Paris, 16th arrondissement, France
Occupation(s)	Art model, dressmaker
Years active	1866–1872
Known for	Modeling for Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Lise Tréhot (14 March 1848 – 12 March 1922) was a French art model who posed for artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir from 1866 until 1872, during his early Salon period. She appeared in more than twenty paintings, including notable works such as Lise with a Parasol (1867) and In Summer (1868), and she was the model for almost all of Renoir's work featuring female figures at this time. Tréhot married Georges Brière de l'Isle in 1883 and raised four children to whom she bequeathed two of Renoir's paintings, Lise Sewing (1867–68) and Lise in a White Shawl (1872), both of which are currently held by the Dallas Museum of Art.^[1]^[2]

Early life

Lise Tréhot was born in Ecquevilly, Seine-et-Oise, France, on 14 March 1848, to Louis Tréhot and Amelie Elisabeth Boudin. Her father was the postmaster of the town until the mid-1850s, after which he moved the entire family to Paris where he sold lemonade, tobacco, and wine at a shop in the 17th arrondissement.^[3] Lise was the fourth in a family of six children, including three brothers and two sisters. A document from this time describes Tréhot's profession as a dressmaker. Clémence Tréhot, her older sister, was the lover of artist Jules Le Cœur, who later introduced her to Pierre-Auguste Renoir at his house in Marlotte, possibly in June 1865.^[2]^[4]^[5]^[6]

Modeling period

Tréhot began modeling for Renoir when she was about eighteen and he was twenty-five. Early paintings of Tréhot at this time include Lise in a Straw Hat (1866) and Lise Sewing (1867–68). Renoir is thought to have painted a modern nude of Tréhot as Diana (1867), but it was rejected by the Salon of 1867.^{[note 1]} Renoir found critical success the next year with Lise (1867), which was well received at the Salon of 1868. The Impressionist painting depicts Tréhot in a life-size portrait, strolling through a wooded park as sunlight falls through the trees.^[6] Art critic Zacharie Astruc described Tréhot in Lise as "the likeable Parisian girl in the woods", and as a working-class girl.^[6] Émile Zola also approved, comparing Tréhot to Monet's model and later wife Camille Doncieux.^[1]^[9] French art critic Théodore Duret later observed that because Renoir's Lise was derivative of Gustave Courbet's technique, its appearance at the Salon "provoked no definite opposition".^[10] However, Renoir's decision to shadow Tréhot's face in darkness and emphasize the reflection of sunlight from her white dress in Lise led several critics to ridicule Tréhot's appearance due to the unusual contrast.^[5]^[11]^[12]

At the Salon of 1869, Tréhot appeared in a work named In Summer (1868), dressed casually in a loose blouse falling off her shoulders. John Collins notes that Tréhot's "dark, heavy-set and expressionless features" worked well in such portraits, but were less successful in more formal, costume-oriented paintings such as The Engaged Couple (1868), where she poses with artist Alfred Sisley. In the summer of 1869, she accompanied Renoir to his parents’ house in the Ville-d'Avray, and made trips to the Seine near Bougival where Renoir painted scenes with Monet on the water. La Barque (1870) is thought to depict Lise during this summer holiday.^[2]

In total, Tréhot appeared in over twenty paintings by Renoir during his early Salon period from approximately 1866 until 1872.^[1]^[6] According to art historian John House, "Lise was the model for virtually all of Renoir's female figures at this time".^[13]

Although little is known about the exact nature of Tréhot's relationship with Renoir while she was modeling; she is said to have given birth to a baby boy named Pierre on 14 December 1868, but it is unclear what became of him and he may have died as an infant. On 21 July 1870, Tréhot gave birth to a baby girl named Jeanne (d. 1934) who was given to a wet nurse to raise as her own. Renoir continued to secretly support Jeanne financially until he died (and after his death with the help of Ambroise Vollard), but never publicly or legally acknowledged that she was his daughter during his lifetime.^[6]^[14]^[15]

For unknown reasons, Tréhot stopped modeling for Renoir after 1872; it was said that she never spoke to or saw him again. Although Tréhot was an important part of Renoir's early career, he never mentioned her in any published interviews, memoirs, or biographies.^[1]^[6]

Later life

In 1883, more than a decade after Tréhot stopped modeling for Renoir, she married architect Georges Brière de l'Isle (1847–1902). As the wife of Brière de l'Isle, she raised two sons and two daughters.^[6] Tréhot bequeathed two of Renoir's paintings, Lise Sewing (1867–68) and Lise in a White Shawl (1872), to her children. It is said that before her death, she destroyed many of her personal papers related to her time modeling for Renoir. Tréhot died in Paris, in the 16th arrondissement, on 12 March 1922, at the age of 73.^[8] She is buried in the Père Lachaise Cemetery.^[2]

Selected works as model

Tréhot's list of selected works includes at least twenty-six oil on canvas paintings, twenty-four of which were painted by Renoir, while two are by Frédéric Bazille (1841–1870). It is thought that Tréhot may have posed for as many as twenty-three works for Renoir,^[1] but only once for Bazille; Renoir's Landscape with Two People (1866), in which she appeared, has survived only as a fragment of the lower left corner, known as Woman with Bird (La Fille a l'Oiseau). Landscape with Two People is preserved as a painting within a painting in Bazille's Studio (1870), the only known surviving image of the full painting. Tréhot is believed to have posed for La Toilette (1869–70), another work by Bazille.^[6]^[11] At least one painting, Diana (1867), is disputed, and is thought to feature a model other than Tréhot.^{[note 1]}

Year	Title	Type	Dimensions	Gallery	Notes
1866	Lise in a Straw Hat (Jeune fille au chapeau de paille)	Oil on canvas	47 × 38.4 cm	Barnes Foundation	^[6]^[16]
1866	Standing Young Woman	Oil on canvas	24.5 × 14 cm	Private collection	^[17]
1866	Young Woman Seated in the Countryside	Oil on canvas	24.5 × 14 cm	Private collection	^[17]
1866	Woman Standing by a Tree	Oil on canvas	25.2 × 15.9 cm	National Gallery of Art	^[18]
1866	Woman by a Fence	Oil on canvas	25 × 16.1 cm	National Gallery of Art	^[18]
1866	Woman in a Park	Oil on canvas	26.1 × 16.1 cm	National Gallery of Art	^[18]
1866	Landscape with Two People (Paysage avec deux personnages)	Oil on canvas	Unknown	Only a fragment of the painting survives, depicting just the seated woman with the title of Woman with Bird (La Dame a l'oiseau). The top right corner portion is presumed missing or destroyed. The image here is a closeup of Renoir's painting displayed within Bazille's painting, Bazille's Studio (1870).	^[6]^[19]
1866	Woman with Bird (Lise: La Fille a l'Oaseau)	Oil on canvas	81 × 65 cm	Nizhny Novgorod State Art Museum	^[6]^[19]
1867–68	Lise Sewing	Oil on canvas	55.9 × 45.7 cm	Dallas Museum of Art	^[6]
1867	Diana^{[note 1]}	Oil on canvas	197 × 132 cm	National Gallery of Art	^[18]
1867	Portrait of Lise (Lise holding a bouquet of wild flowers)	Oil on canvas	65.2 × 50.3 cm	Private collection	^[1]
1867	Lise with a Parasol	Oil on canvas	184 × 115 cm	Museum Folkwang	^[6]
1868	Woman in a Meadow	Oil on canvas	29 × 34.5 cm	Ordrupgaard	^[20]
1868	Woman in a Garden	Oil on canvas	105.5 × 73.4 cm	Kunstmuseum Basel	^[21]
1868	A Couple (Les Fiancés)	Oil on canvas	105 × 75 cm	Wallraf-Richartz Museum	^[6]
1868	In Summer: Study	Oil on canvas	85 × 59 cm	Alte Nationalgalerie	^[6]
1869–70	A Nymph by a Stream	Oil on canvas	66.5 × 124 cm	National Gallery, London	^[18]
1869–70	La Toilette	Oil on canvas	132 × 127 cm	Musée Fabre	^[11]
1870	Bather with a Griffon Dog	Oil on canvas	184 × 115 cm	São Paulo Museum of Art	^[6]
1870	Woman of Algiers (Odalisque)	Oil on canvas	69.2 × 122.6 cm	National Gallery of Art	^[18]
1870	Jeune femme dans une barque (La Barque)	Oil on canvas	29.5 × 33.2 cm	Private collection	^[22]
1870	La Promenade	Oil on canvas	81.3 × 65 cm	Getty Center	^[13]
1871	Woman with Parakeet	Oil on canvas	92.1 × 65.1 cm	Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum	^[1]
1871–72	Lise in a White Shawl	Oil on canvas	56 × 46 cm	Dallas Museum of Art	^[6]
1871–72	Femme demi-nue couchée (Reclining Nude)	Oil on canvas	29.5 × 25 cm	Musée d'Orsay	^[23]
1872	Woman with Parasol Seated in the Garden	Oil on canvas	46 × 37.9 cm	Private collection	^[9]
1872	Parisian Women in Algerian Costume (The Harem)	Oil on canvas	156 cm × 129 cm	National Museum of Western Art	^[18]

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c Tréhot is generally accepted as the model for Diana, but in 2012, art historian Michael F. Zimmerman argued that it was not Tréhot.^[7] Curator Sylvie Patry of the Musée d'Orsay also questions whether Tréhot is the model.^[8]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Collins, John (2013). "Tréhot, Lise." In Jill Berk Jiminez (ed). Dictionary of Artists' Models. Routeledge. pp.526–528. ISBN 9781135959210. OCLC 46944625.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Cooper, Douglas (May 1959). "Renoir, Lise and the Le Cœur Family: A Study of Renoir's Early Development-1 Lise." The Burlington Magazine, 101 (674): 162–171. OCLC 53397979. (subscription required)
^ White, Barbara Ehrlich (2017). Renoir: An Intimate Biography. Thames & Hudson. ISBN 9780500774038. p. 82
^ Cooper, Douglas (Sept–Oct 1959). "Renoir, Lise and the Le Cœur Family: A Study of Renoir's Early Development-II: The Le Cœurs." The Burlington Magazine, 101 (678/679): 320, 322–329. OCLC 53397979. (subscription required)
^ ^a ^b Distel, Anne (1995). Renoir: A Sensuous Vision. Abrams Discoveries series. New York: Harry N. Abrams. p. 25. ISBN 9780810928756. OCLC 34704757.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q House, John. (2013). "The Many Faces of Lise Tréhot: Pierre-Auguste Renoir's Portraits of Parisiennes." In Heather MacDonald (ed.) Impressionism and Post-Impressionism at the Dallas Museum of Art. The Richard R. Brettell Lecture Series. Yale University Press. pp. 25–36. ISBN 978-0-300-18757-1. OCLC 844731572.
^ Zimmermann, Michael F. (2012). "From Bohemia to Arcadia: Renoir between Nervous Modernity and Primitive Eternity" (PDF). In Zimmer, Nina (ed.). Renoir. Between Bohemia and Bourgeoisie: The Early Years. Ostfildern: Hatje Cantz Verlag. p. 21. ISBN 9783720402002.
^ ^a ^b Patry, Sylvie (March 24, 2022). "In search of Lise, Renoir's model and muse". Jubilee Lecture Series 1922/2022. Museum Folkwang. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
^ ^a ^b Strieter, Terry W. (1999). Nineteenth-century European Art: A Topical Dictionary. Greenwood Press. pp.247–248. ISBN 978-0-313-29898-1. OCLC 185705650.
^ Duret, Théodore (1910). Manet and the French Impressionists. G. Richards. p. 111. OCLC 744658.
^ ^a ^b ^c Tinterow, Gary. Henri Loyrette (1994). Origins of Impressionism. Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 140-142, 337. ISBN 9780870997174. OCLC 30623473.
^ White, Barbara Ehrlich (2010). Renoir: His Life, Art, and Letters. Abrams. p. 28. ISBN 9780810996076. OCLC 503442731.
^ ^a ^b House, John (1997). Pierre-Auguste Renoir: La Promenade. Getty Publications. pp. 14, 81. ISBN 9780892363650. OCLC 37109128.
^ Distel, Anne (2010). Renoir. Abbeville Press. pp. 70–74. ISBN 978-0789210579. OCLC 435419243.
^ Rainbow, Rebecca (ed). (2006). Cézanne to Picasso: Ambroise Vollard, Patron of the Avant-Garde. Metropolitan Museum of Art. pp. 146, 149. ISBN 978-1588391957. OCLC 185422996.
^ Lucy, Martha. John House (2012). Renoir in the Barnes Foundation. Yale University Press. pp. 68–69. ISBN 9780300151008. OCLC 742017633.
^ ^a ^b As cited on Christie's website: Dauberville, G.-P. Michel Dauberville (2007). Renoir: Catalogue Raisonné des Tableaux, Pastels, Dessins et Aquarelles. Volume I. p. 390. ISBN 9782916873008. OCLC 297153894.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Coman, Florence E. (2004). Impressionism, An Intimate View: Small French Paintings in the National Gallery of Art. National Gallery of Art. p. 30. ISBN 978-1904832034. OCLC 55016362.
^ ^a ^b Le Cœur, Marc (May 1998). "A Drawing of Renoir in 1866". The Burlington Magazine, 140 (1142): 320-322.
^ Gillian, Wes (4 August 2020). From Manet to Morisot: 10 Impressionist paintings coming to the UK for the first time. Royal Academy of Arts. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
^ Bott, Gian Casper (2004). Kunstmuseum Basel. Foundation BNP Paribas Switzerland in cooperation with the Swiss Institute for Art Research. p. 41. ISBN 9783908196303. OCLC 609181786.
^ As cited in Cooper (May 1959): Vollard, A. (1918). Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Tableaux, pastels et dessins. Volume I, no. 19, p. 5. "La Barque".
^ Laclotte, Michel (1987). The Musee d'Orsay, Paris. H.N. Abrams, p. 87. ISBN 9780810914469. OCLC 15489594.

External links

Media related to Lise Tréhot at Wikimedia Commons

[disputed-9] Tréhot is generally accepted as the model for Diana, but in 2012, art historian Michael F. Zimmerman argued that it was not Tréhot.^[7] Curator Sylvie Patry of the Musée d'Orsay also questions whether Tréhot is the model.^[8]

[jiminez-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Collins, John (2013). "Tréhot, Lise." In Jill Berk Jiminez (ed). Dictionary of Artists' Models. Routeledge. pp.526–528. ISBN 9781135959210. OCLC 46944625.

[cooper1-2] Cooper, Douglas (May 1959). "Renoir, Lise and the Le Cœur Family: A Study of Renoir's Early Development-1 Lise." The Burlington Magazine, 101 (674): 162–171. OCLC 53397979. (subscription required)

[3] White, Barbara Ehrlich (2017). Renoir: An Intimate Biography. Thames & Hudson. ISBN 9780500774038. p. 82

[cooper2-4] Cooper, Douglas (Sept–Oct 1959). "Renoir, Lise and the Le Cœur Family: A Study of Renoir's Early Development-II: The Le Cœurs." The Burlington Magazine, 101 (678/679): 320, 322–329. OCLC 53397979. (subscription required)

[distel-5] Distel, Anne (1995). Renoir: A Sensuous Vision. Abrams Discoveries series. New York: Harry N. Abrams. p. 25. ISBN 9780810928756. OCLC 34704757.

[house-6] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q House, John. (2013). "The Many Faces of Lise Tréhot: Pierre-Auguste Renoir's Portraits of Parisiennes." In Heather MacDonald (ed.) Impressionism and Post-Impressionism at the Dallas Museum of Art. The Richard R. Brettell Lecture Series. Yale University Press. pp. 25–36. ISBN 978-0-300-18757-1. OCLC 844731572.

[7] Zimmermann, Michael F. (2012). "From Bohemia to Arcadia: Renoir between Nervous Modernity and Primitive Eternity" (PDF). In Zimmer, Nina (ed.). Renoir. Between Bohemia and Bourgeoisie: The Early Years. Ostfildern: Hatje Cantz Verlag. p. 21. ISBN 9783720402002.

[patry-8] Patry, Sylvie (March 24, 2022). "In search of Lise, Renoir's model and muse". Jubilee Lecture Series 1922/2022. Museum Folkwang. Retrieved September 21, 2022.

[strieter-10] Strieter, Terry W. (1999). Nineteenth-century European Art: A Topical Dictionary. Greenwood Press. pp.247–248. ISBN 978-0-313-29898-1. OCLC 185705650.

[duret-11] Duret, Théodore (1910). Manet and the French Impressionists. G. Richards. p. 111. OCLC 744658.

[tinterow-12] Tinterow, Gary. Henri Loyrette (1994). Origins of Impressionism. Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 140-142, 337. ISBN 9780870997174. OCLC 30623473.

[white-13] White, Barbara Ehrlich (2010). Renoir: His Life, Art, and Letters. Abrams. p. 28. ISBN 9780810996076. OCLC 503442731.

[house2-14] House, John (1997). Pierre-Auguste Renoir: La Promenade. Getty Publications. pp. 14, 81. ISBN 9780892363650. OCLC 37109128.

[distel_2-15] Distel, Anne (2010). Renoir. Abbeville Press. pp. 70–74. ISBN 978-0789210579. OCLC 435419243.

[16] Rainbow, Rebecca (ed). (2006). Cézanne to Picasso: Ambroise Vollard, Patron of the Avant-Garde. Metropolitan Museum of Art. pp. 146, 149. ISBN 978-1588391957. OCLC 185422996.

[barnes-17] Lucy, Martha. John House (2012). Renoir in the Barnes Foundation. Yale University Press. pp. 68–69. ISBN 9780300151008. OCLC 742017633.

[daub-18] As cited on Christie's website: Dauberville, G.-P. Michel Dauberville (2007). Renoir: Catalogue Raisonné des Tableaux, Pastels, Dessins et Aquarelles. Volume I. p. 390. ISBN 9782916873008. OCLC 297153894.

[coman-19] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Coman, Florence E. (2004). Impressionism, An Intimate View: Small French Paintings in the National Gallery of Art. National Gallery of Art. p. 30. ISBN 978-1904832034. OCLC 55016362.

[cœur-20] Le Cœur, Marc (May 1998). "A Drawing of Renoir in 1866". The Burlington Magazine, 140 (1142): 320-322.

[21] Gillian, Wes (4 August 2020). From Manet to Morisot: 10 Impressionist paintings coming to the UK for the first time. Royal Academy of Arts. Retrieved 13 August 2021.

[bott-22] Bott, Gian Casper (2004). Kunstmuseum Basel. Foundation BNP Paribas Switzerland in cooperation with the Swiss Institute for Art Research. p. 41. ISBN 9783908196303. OCLC 609181786.

[cooper3-23] As cited in Cooper (May 1959): Vollard, A. (1918). Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Tableaux, pastels et dessins. Volume I, no. 19, p. 5. "La Barque".

[Laclotte-24] Laclotte, Michel (1987). The Musee d'Orsay, Paris. H.N. Abrams, p. 87. ISBN 9780810914469. OCLC 15489594.

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v t e Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Paintings	List of paintings Portrait of William Sisley (1864) Mother Anthony's Tavern (1866) Diana (1867) Lise with a Parasol (1867) Frédéric Bazille at his Easel (1867) A Couple (Les Fiancés) (1868) In Summer (1868) Skaters in the Bois de Boulogne (1868) Léonard Renoir, The Artist's Father (1869) La Grenouillère (1869) A Nymph by a Stream (1869-70) L'Algérienne (1870) La Promenade (1870) Bather with a Griffon Dog (1870) Woman with Parakeet (1871) The Harem (1872) Le Pont-Neuf (1872) The Gust of Wind (1872) Claude Monet Painting in His Garden at Argenteuil (1873) La Parisienne (1874) La Loge (1874) The Grand Boulevards (1875) Portrait of the Painter Claude Monet (1875) In the Garden - Under the Arbour at the Moulin de la Galette (1875) Woman with a Cat (1875) Bal du moulin de la Galette (1876) Nude woman sitting on a couch (Anna) (1876) The Swing (1876) A Girl with a Watering Can (1876) Mother and Children (1876) At the Theatre (1876–1877) Eugène Murer (1877) The Day Dream (1877) The Cup of Chocolate (1878) Madame Georges Charpentier and Her Children (1878) Portrait of Jeanne Samary (1878) Lunch at the Restaurant Fournaise (1879) Paysage Bords de Seine (1879) Portrait of Irène Cahen d'Anvers (La Petite Irène) (1880) Luncheon of the Boating Party (1881) Pink and Blue (1881) Two Sisters (On the Terrace) (1881) Young Women in Black (1880–1882) Blonde Bather (1881 and 1882) The Umbrellas (1880–81, 1885–86) By the Seashore (1883) Dance at Bougival (1883) Dance in the City (1883) Dance in the Country (1883) Les Grandes Baigneuses (1884–1887) Nature morte: fleurs (1885) The Braid (1886–1887) Young Woman with a Blue Ribbon (1888) Girls at the Piano (1892) Yvonne and Christine Lerolle at the Piano (1897) Woman Playing a Guitar (1897) Gabrielle with Open Blouse (1907) Nude (1910) After the Bath (1910) The Coast at Cagnes, Sea, Mountains (c. 1910) Portrait of Ambroise Vollard in a Red Headscarf (1911) The Farm at Les Collettes, Cagnes (c. 1908–1914) Blond Girl with a Rose (1915–1917) Portrait of Adèle Besson (1918) The Bathers (1918–19)
Sculptures	Venus Victorious (c. 1914)
Portrayals	A Studio at Les Batignolles (1870 painting) Bazille's Studio (1870 painting) The Impressionists (2006 series) Renoir (2012 film)
Family	Aline Charigot (wife) Lucienne Bisson (daughter) Pierre Renoir (son) Jean Renoir (son) Claude Renoir (son) Claude Renoir (grandson) Alain Renoir (grandson) Pierre Roland Renoir (great-grandson) Sophie Renoir (great-granddaughter)
Related	Musée de Montmartre, home and studio Gabrielle Renard (nanny, later model) Lise Tréhot Marguerite Legrand Catherine Hessling Richard Guino Jeanne Samary Suzanne Valadon Henriette Henriot Jane Henriot (child model) Raoul Rigault Jeanne Baudot (his only student) Maison Fournaise Pays des Impressionnistes Renoir (crater)

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