57 PIERRE­AUGUSTE RENOIR French, 1841­1919 Albert Cahen d'Anvers, 1881 Oil on canvas 79.8 x 63.7 cm (31 7/16 x 25 in.) At lower right, signed Renoir/Wargemont. 9. Sbre 81. 88.PA.133 Twenty years into his career, Renoir became so disenchanted with Impressionism that he called the movement a "blind alley." He transformed his style, harmonizing the loose, painterly effects of his early works such as La Promenade (no. 54) with the firm contours and weighty forms reminiscent of Renaissance painting. Through these means Renoir won the favor of the wealthy Parisian patrons who commissioned portraits from him. These works were well received at the official Salons, and by 1880 Renoir vowed to exhibit only portraits there. One of the freshest examples of the artist's new approach is this portrait of the orchestral composer Albert Cahen d'Anvers (1846­1903). Albert, the younger brother of the financier Louis Cahen d'Anvers, is shown nonchalantly smoking a cigarette in the salon at Wargemont, the home of Renoir's great patron Paul Berard. In the portrait Renoir reproduces the room's exuberant decor and contrasts its bright blue patterns with the young man's own vivid coloring. The juxtaposition of similar forms maintains the unity between sitter and setting. Albert's curled mustache, for example, complements the curves of the floral wallpaper; his ruffled hair echoes the feathered red leaves of the potted plant. This subtly contrived composition creates a mood of relaxed elegance that is, however, given an edge by the artist's focus on Cahen d'Anvers's distant, yet sparklingly alert, gaze. The composer's ultimate detachment from the viewer, in combination with the attribute of a cigarette, hints, perhaps, at his creative vocation. DA 106 FRENCH SCHOOL