Head of a Child (Edmond Renoir) 1888

Pierre-Auguste Renoir made this portrait of his son, Edmond, using pastel on paper. Pastels are interesting because they sit between drawing and painting. They're essentially pure pigment, bound together with just enough medium to hold their shape. This gives them an intense, velvety quality, and allows for a direct, almost sculptural way of working. You can see how Renoir has built up layers of color, hatching and blending with his fingers to create soft, luminous skin tones. Although seemingly simple, the making of pastels is labor-intensive, involving grinding, mixing, and shaping. The quality of the materials, too, speaks to Renoir's status as an established artist, able to command the best supplies. The apparent ease of the image belies the skill and work that went into both the materials and the making of the portrait. It reminds us that even seemingly effortless artworks are rooted in material and process.