Who painted The Young Soldier?

The Young Soldier was painted by Pierre-Auguste Renoir in c. 1880.

Where can I see The Young Soldier?

The Young Soldier is held by National Gallery of Art.

What movement is The Young Soldier?

The Young Soldier is associated with Impressionism.

Can I buy a print of The Young Soldier?

Museum-quality prints of The Young Soldier are available made-to-order from Artifact World Gallery.

Artwork

The Young Soldier

Pierre-Auguste Renoir , 1880

The Young Soldier is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir. It dates from 1880 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

Inscription: Inscribed:lower right: Renoir

About this work

Technique & Style

The Young Soldier is an oil on canvas painting, executed in 1880.

The Young Soldier is an oil on canvas painting, executed in 1880. Its modest dimensions, approximately 54.93 by 33.02 cm, suit the intimate scale of a portrait study. The work is classified as a portrait, consistent with its focus on a single sitter, and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

The medium of oil on canvas allowed Renoir to work with the soft, blended handling characteristic of his portrait practice, building form through layered paint rather than linear definition. The vertical orientation of the support emphasizes the figure of the young soldier, framing him from the bust upward in a format well suited to the sitter's presentation.

History & Provenance

Auguste Renoir completed The Young Soldier in 1880. The painting entered the collection of Theodore Duret in Paris, remaining there until his sale at Galerie Georges Petit on March 18, 1894, where it was sold as lot 38. Alexandre Natanson subsequently acquired the work, which was later handled by Jos Hessel by 1932 and exhibited by the Carroll Carstairs Gallery in New York in 1935.

Ownership passed to Mrs. Phyllis Lutgens of New York before appearing at a Sotheby's auction in London on April 29, 1964. Paul Mellon purchased the portrait at this sale and held it in Upperville, Virginia. Upon his death in 1999, Mellon bequeathed the painting to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., though his wife, Rachel Lambert Mellon, retained a life interest in the work.

The painting is held by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., where it entered the collection through the bequest of Paul Mellon in 1999. Its accession number is 1999.1.31.

It was exhibited at the Carroll Carstairs Gallery, New York, in the exhibition _French Impressionists and After_ from December 1935 to January 1936.

Overview

Created around 1880, The Young Soldier is an oil on canvas portrait by French painter Auguste Renoir. The work presents a solitary figure in a dark coat and vivid red trousers, captured in a moment of quiet attention. The composition is set against a softly rendered background that hints at another presence beyond the central subject.

Subject & Meaning

The sitter, dressed in military attire, appears contemplative, his expression serious beneath a hat. One hand rests in a pocket while the other grasps a small object, suggesting a pause in duty or a personal gesture. The inclusion of a faint secondary figure in the distance adds a subtle narrative layer, hinting at social or situational context without overt explanation.