Young Spanish Woman with a Guitar by Renoir, Auguste
Auguste Renoir painted "Young Spanish Woman with a Guitar" in 1898, the same year Spain lost its final overseas colonies in the Spanish-American War. The painting now belongs to a private collection.
Look at the contrast Renoir builds: a black hat against a brilliant red scarf, a loosely brushed background giving way to the precise placement of her fingers on the fretboard. The ornate shawl and gold necklace tell you this is a woman of some means, dressed for a performance or a festive occasion, yet she is entirely absorbed in the private act of playing.
Renoir was 57 when he painted this, and rheumatoid arthritis was already deforming his hands. He would eventually paint with brushes strapped to his wrists. Knowing that, the careful rendering of the guitarist's hands becomes more than just good anatomy, it is an act of deep, personal attention from a man watching his own body begin to fail him.
The model's identity is not recorded. She may have been a professional sitter, or simply a visitor to Renoir's studio. What remains is a quiet, glowing record of a woman making music at the close of a century, unaware she is sitting for an artist who is fighting to keep painting.
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In 1898, Spain lost the last of its empire. Cuba, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, gone by year's end. This woman sits inside that same year, playing. The red scarf and ornate shawl mark her as Spanish. Her left hand finds the notes with complete concentration. Renoir painted this in France, far from the war. He was 57, his hands already stiff with arthritis. A painter losing his hands, painting a woman making music.