Lise Tréhot

Lise Tréhot (14 March 1848 – 12 March 1922) was a French art model who posed for artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir from 1866 until 1872, during his early Salon period. She appeared in more than twenty paintings, including notable works such as Lise with a Parasol and In Summer (1868), and she was the model for almost all of Renoir's work featuring female figures at this time. Tréhot married Georges Brière de l'Isle in 1883 and raised four children to whom she bequeathed two of Renoir's paintings, Lise Sewing (1867–68) and Lise in a White Shawl (1872), both of which are currently held by the Dallas Museum of Art.

Early life

Lise Tréhot was born in Ecquevilly, Seine-et-Oise, France, on 14 March 1848, to Louis Tréhot and Amelie Elisabeth Boudin. Her father was the postmaster of the town until the mid-1850s, after which he moved the entire family to Paris where he sold lemonade, tobacco, and wine at a shop in the 17th arrondissement. Lise was the fourth in a family of six children, including three brothers and two sisters. A document from this time describes Tréhot's profession as a dressmaker. Clémence Tréhot, her older sister, was the lover of artist Jules Le Cœur, who later introduced her to Pierre-Auguste Renoir at his house in Marlotte, possibly in June 1865.

Modeling period

Tréhot began modeling for Renoir when she was about eighteen and he was twenty-five. Early paintings of Tréhot at this time include Lise in a Straw Hat (1866) and Lise Sewing (1867–68). Renoir is thought to have painted a modern nude of Tréhot as Diana (1867), but it was rejected by the Salon of 1867. Renoir found critical success the next year with Lise (1867), which was well received at the Salon of 1868. The Impressionist painting depicts Tréhot in a life-size portrait, strolling through a wooded park as sunlight falls through the trees. However, Renoir's decision to shadow Tréhot's face in darkness and emphasize the reflection of sunlight from her white dress in Lise led several critics to ridicule Tréhot's appearance due to the unusual contrast.

At the Salon of 1869, Tréhot appeared in a work named In Summer (1868), dressed casually in a loose blouse falling off her shoulders. John Collins notes that Tréhot's "dark, heavy-set and expressionless features" worked well in such portraits, but were less successful in more formal, costume-oriented paintings such as The Engaged Couple (1868), where she poses with artist Alfred Sisley. In the summer of 1869, she accompanied Renoir to his parents’ house in the Ville-d'Avray, and made trips to the Seine near Bougival where Renoir painted scenes with Monet on the water. La Barque (1870) is thought to depict Lise during this summer holiday.

Although little is known about the exact nature of Tréhot's relationship with Renoir while she was modeling; she is said to have given birth to a baby boy named Pierre on 14 December 1868, but it is unclear what became of him and he may have died as an infant. On 21 July 1870, Tréhot gave birth to a baby girl named Jeanne (d. 1934) who was given to a wet nurse to raise as her own. Renoir continued to secretly support Jeanne financially until he died (and after his death with the help of Ambroise Vollard), but never publicly or legally acknowledged that she was his daughter during his lifetime.

For unknown reasons, Tréhot stopped modeling for Renoir after 1872; it was said that she never spoke to or saw him again. Although Tréhot was an important part of Renoir's early career, he never mentioned her in any published interviews, memoirs, or biographies. - id="Table row 2" 1866

Standing Young Woman Oil on canvas 24.5 × 14 cm Private collection - id="Table row 4" 1866

Woman Standing by a Tree Oil on canvas 25.2 × 15.9 cm National Gallery of Art - id="Table row 6" 1866

Woman in a Park Oil on canvas 26.1 × 16.1 cm National Gallery of Art - id="Table row 8" 1866

Woman with Bird (Lise: La Fille a l'Oaseau) Oil on canvas 81 × 65 cm Nizhny Novgorod State Art Museum - id="Table row 9" 1867–68

Lise Sewing Oil on canvas 55.9 × 45.7 cm Dallas Museum of Art - id="Table row 14" 1868

Woman in a Garden Oil on canvas 105.5 × 73.4 cm Kunstmuseum Basel - id="Table row 15" 1868

A Couple (Les Fiancés) Oil on canvas 105 × 75 cm Wallraf-Richartz Museum - id="Table row 19" 1870

Bather with a Griffon Dog Oil on canvas 184 × 115 cm São Paulo Museum of Art - id="Table row 22" 1870

La Promenade Oil on canvas 81.3 × 65 cm Getty Center - id="Table row 26" 1872

Woman with Parasol Seated in the Garden Oil on canvas 46 × 37.9 cm Private collection - id="Table row 27" 1872

Parisian Women in Algerian Costume (The Harem) Oil on canvas 156 cm × 129 cm National Museum of Western Art