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The Renoir Girls by Catherine Ostler: The Sisters Behind Renoir's Portraits
Catherine Ostler's The Renoir Girls follows the Cahen d'Anvers sisters, painted by Renoir as children, from Belle Epoque Paris through the Dreyfus affair and Nazi occupation.
Who are the Renoir girls? Irène, Elisabeth, and Alice Cahen d'Anvers were three sisters from a wealthy Jewish banking family in Paris. Pierre-Auguste Renoir painted Irène in 1880 in the portrait often called Little Irène. In 1881 he painted her younger sisters Elisabeth and Alice together in the picture known as Pink and Blue. Both paintings became famous. Catherine Ostler's book investigates what became of the girls in them.
The Renoir Girls: A Hidden History of Art, War & Betrayal is published by Atria Books in North America (publisher page) and by Simon & Schuster UK in Britain.
The story it traces
The sisters grew up amid the privilege of Belle Epoque Paris, but their lives intersected with the century's catastrophes. The rise of French antisemitism during the Dreyfus affair affected their world. Their adult paths diverged sharply. According to the publisher and press coverage of the book, Alice married an English officer, Charles Townshend, and in the Second World War escaped occupied France. Elisabeth, who had converted to Catholicism, was betrayed to the authorities under the Vichy regime and deported. Irène's family was also devastated by Nazi persecution. The paintings had their own wartime journeys: Little Irène was among the works seized during the occupation.
The book weaves the family history together with the history of the portraits, focusing on how art survives and changes hands as well as the people in it.
About the author
Catherine Ostler is a British journalist and author and a former editor of Tatler. Her previous book, The Duchess Countess, was a history of the eighteenth-century bigamy scandal involving Elizabeth Chudleigh. More on the new book is on her website. Coverage in the Observer and the Jewish Chronicle has focused on the sisters' fates and on France's role in Elisabeth's betrayal.
Who it suits
Readers of narrative history about families caught in the Holocaust, such as Edmund de Waal's The Hare with Amber Eyes, will recognize the territory. Art lovers who know the paintings but not the sitters, and those interested in looted art and restitution, are also likely to be interested. Those searching for a free PDF should note that the book is in copyright and available through libraries, ebook stores and audiobook services.
Book details
- Title: The Renoir Girls: A Hidden History of Art, War & Betrayal
- Author: Catherine Ostler
- Publishers: Atria Books (US and Canada), Simon & Schuster UK
- US ISBN: 9781668232484
- UK ISBN: 9781471172595