Claude Renoir, three-quarters right c. 19th century

Editor: This is Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s "Claude Renoir, three-quarters right," housed at the Harvard Art Museums. The sketchiness of the lines gives the portrait an unfinished, almost dreamlike quality. What stands out to you? Curator: The dynamism lies precisely in those lines. Consider how Renoir uses hatching and cross-hatching to construct form and shadow with an economy of means. Note the contrast between the densely worked hair and the comparatively bare face. Editor: So, the strategic use of line weight and density is key? Curator: Precisely. It's a study in the potentials of the etched line, a self-contained exercise in form. Editor: I see it now—it’s a deceptively simple but formally brilliant work. Curator: Indeed, a testament to the power of pure visuality.