Musée d’Orsay · 1875
Claude Monet
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Renoir painted his close friend and fellow painter Claude Monet relaxed at home, reading with a pipe in hand — one of several affectionate portraits the Impressionist painters made of each other during the years they were too poor and unknown to find many other willing sitters.
Why it matters
Renoir painted his close friend and fellow painter Claude Monet relaxed at home, reading with a pipe in hand — one of several affectionate portraits the Impressionist painters made of each other during the years they were too poor and unknown to find many other willing sitters.
Look closer
Notice the leafy branch arching over Monet's head in the background — some historians read it as a gentle, joking "crown" that Renoir gave his friend.
Critics at the 1876 Impressionist exhibition, where this was shown, singled it out as proof that Renoir could paint with the skill of an old master, even while working in this then-controversial new style.
Value context
ELYIO places this work in an indicative editorial context of €10–18 million.
The museum work is not for sale. This is ELYIO indicative context—not an appraisal, insurance value or offer.