Description
A bather rests her chin on her hand, elbow propped on a raised knee, short dark hair falling around her face in a moment of quiet thought. Behind her a band of blue water stretches across the canvas, and the rock she sits on is built from warm, loosely brushed browns.
Painted around 1880 and held by the Musée Marmottan Monet, the small canvas (54 by 39 cm) belongs to Renoir’s earlier bather studies, painted with looser, more visible brushwork than his later, more sculptural nudes. The print keeps the blue water flat and calm behind her, so the thoughtful, resting pose stays the clear centre of attention.



