Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings Signed and dated (lower left): Renoir. 81.
Gallery Label From 1878, Renoir enjoyed the patronage of the French banker and diplomat Paul Berard and was a frequent guest at the Berards' country house in the small Normandy village of Wargemont. During a visit in the summer of 1881, Renoir painted two similar still lifes, albeit in contrasting color harmonies, which show the family's faïence jardinière piled high with peaches. The present work was purchased by Berard later that year; the other version (also in the Metropolitan Museum) was featured in the seventh Impressionist exhibition, in the spring of 1882.
Provenance [Durand-Ruel, Paris, 1881; bought from the artist on February 7; sold on October 10 to Bérard]; Paul Berard, Paris and Wargemont (1881–1905; his estate sale, Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, May 8–9, 1905, no. 27, as "Les pêches," for Fr 6,000 to Guérin for Pra); Albert Pra, Paris (1905–38; his estate sale, Galerie Charpentier, Paris, June 17, 1938, no. 51, as "Les fruits," for Fr 465,000 to Rosenberg); [Paul Rosenberg, Paris, 1938; sold to Bignou]; [Étienne Bignou, Paris, 1939; sold to Cargill]; William A. Cargill, Carruth, Bridge of Weir, Scotland (1939–52; stored by Lefevre with Bignou, New York during the war and sold in October to Bignou); [Étienne Bignou, Paris, 1952; sold to Salz]; [Sam Salz, New York, 1952–53; sold to Vogel]; Edwin C. Vogel, New York (1953–56; sold to MMA)
Exhibition History Paris. Galeries Durand-Ruel. "Exposition A. Renoir," May 1892, no. 60 (as "Peches et raisins, lent by Paul Bérard [sic]).
Paris. Galeries Bernheim Jeune et Fils. "Exposition A. Renoir," January 25–February 10, 1900, no. 7 (as "Pêches et raisins," lent by M. Bérard [sic]).
Paris. Musée de l'Orangerie. "Exposition Renoir, 1841–1919," 1933, no. 63 (as "Peches [sic] et Raisins," lent by Albert Pra, Paris).
Detroit Institute of Arts. "The Age of Impressionism and Objective Realism," May 3–June 2, 1940, no. 36 (as "Still-Life, lent anonymously by Bignou Gallery, New York).
New York. Bignou Gallery. "A Selection of 19th Century French Paintings," October 22–November 17, 1945, no. 9 (as "Peaches," lent anonymously).
London. Lefevre Fine Art Ltd. "Renoir," 1948, no. 8 (lent anonymously).
New York. Wildenstein. "Renoir: In Commemoration of the Fiftieth Anniversary of Renoir's Death," March 27–May 3, 1969, no. 38.
Naples. Museo di Capodimonte. "Capolavori Impressionisti dei Musei Americani," December 3, 1986–February 1, 1987, no. 42 (as "Natura morta con pesche e uva").
Milan. Pinacoteca di Brera. "Capolavori Impressionisti dei Musei Americani," March 4–May 10, 1987.
Fort Lauderdale. Museum of Art. "Corot to Cézanne: 19th Century French Paintings from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," December 22, 1992–April 11, 1993, no catalogue.
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. "The Masterpieces of French Painting from The Metropolitan Museum of Art: 1800–1920," February 4–May 6, 2007, no. 101.
Berlin. Neue Nationalgalerie. "Französische Meisterwerke des 19.Jahrhunderts aus dem Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York," June 1–October 7, 2007, unnumbered cat.
Atlanta. High Museum of Art. "Inspiring Impressionism: The Impressionists and the Art of the Past," October 16, 2007–January 13, 2008, no. 82.
Denver Art Museum. "Inspiring Impressionism: The Impressionists and the Art of the Past," February 23–May 25, 2008, no. 82.
Seattle Art Museum. "Inspiring Impressionism: The Impressionists and the Art of the Past," June 19–September 21, 2008, no. 82.
References Musée de l'Orangerie. Exposition Renoir, 1841–1919; Album de soixante-quatre reproductions . [Paris], 1933, unpaginated, no. 63, pl. XXXVIII.Exposition Renoir, 1841–1919 . Exh. cat., Musée de l'Orangerie. Paris, 1933, p. 29, no. 63.Maitres du XIXe siècle: Renoir à Wargemont . Paris, 1938, pp. 12–13, ill. on unpaginated page.Weltkunst 12, no. 26/27 (July 3, 1938), p. 4, ill.La nature morte de l'antiquité à nos jours . Paris, 1952, p. 90, pl. 89 [2nd French ed., rev'd 1981, p. 124, pl. 89].Letter to Theodore Rousseau . April 4, 1963.Letter to Theodore Rousseau . April 30, 1963.French Paintings: A Catalogue of the Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art . 3, New York, 1967, pp. 153–54, ill.L'opera completa di Renoir . repr., 1981. Milan, 1972, pp. 109–10, ill.Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art . New York, 1985, p. 166, ill. in color.in The Clark Brothers Collect: Impressionist and Early Modern Paintings . Exh. cat., Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, Mass., 2006, p. 262, fig. 194.in Inspiring Impressionism: The Impressionists and the Art of the Past . Exh. cat., High Museum of Art, Atlanta. Denver, 2007, pp. 40, 261, no. 82, ill. p. 45 (color).in The Masterpieces of French Painting from The Metropolitan Museum of Art: 1800–1920 . Exh. cat., Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. New York, 2007, pp. 138–39, 253, no. 101, ill. (color and bw).in Masterpieces of European Painting, 1800–1920, in The Metropolitan Museum of Art . New York, 2007, p. 155.
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