Child With Cat by Pierre-Auguste Renoir - 1887 - 54 x 65 cm Musée d'Orsay Child With Cat by Pierre-Auguste Renoir - 1887 - 54 x 65 cm Musée d'Orsay

Child With Cat

oil on canvas • 54 x 65 cm
  • Pierre-Auguste Renoir - February 25, 1841 - December 3, 1919 Pierre-Auguste Renoir 1887

The child with a cat in this oil on canvas portrait by Renoir (1841-1919) is Julie Manet, daughter of Berthe Morisot (the painter) and Eugène Manet (brother of the painter Édouard Manet.) Renoir was a friend of the couple, and they commissioned him to paint a portrait of their young daughter in 1887.

The death of both parents within a three-year period left Julie orphaned at age 16. As a result, she came under the guardianship of the poet/critic Stéphane Mallarmé and went to live with her cousins. Throughout her life, Julie posed frequently for her mother and other Impressionist artists, including Renoir and her uncle Édouard. The painting is now at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.