Pierre-Auguste Renoir

A very fine strong impression, published by Ambroise Vollard. From Auguste Renoir’s late period, the lithograph "Enfants jouant à la balle", printed in ten colours, ranks among the artist’s finest achievements in printmaking. This lively and joyful scene, with delicate gradations almost resembling brushwork, is rendered with Renoir’s incomparable lightness and cheerful ease. It is the characteristic soft tonality that lends the sheet its distinctive atmosphere. Renoir was a master of subtle tonal modulation, a quality that is clearly evident in the present lithograph. This impression is widely regarded as one of Renoir’s greatest accomplishments in lithography, not only for its aesthetic appeal but also for the technical innovation involved in translating his Impressionist style into a print medium. The scene is conveyed with a painterly softness closely akin to his oil technique — an achievement made possible through his collaboration with Auguste Clot. The colour lithograph "Enfants jouant à la balle" is represented in major museum collections, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Victoria and Albert Museum, London and the Art Institute of Chicago. — Timestained in the cut-out of the mount. Two closed paper thinnings above the image; a small tear in the left sheet margin. The impression otherwise in fine, fresh condition.