DISCOVERED: THE CHILD AND HIS TOYS, RENOIR’S LONG-LOST PAINTING REEMERGES ON THE MARKET AFTER A CENTURY

An unexpected artistic discovery has once again placed Paris at the center of global cultural attention. A previously unseen work resurfaced after a century, drawing immediate interest from experts and collectors.

A long-lost painting by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, kept in private hands for more than a hundred years, sold for €1.8 million (about USD 2 million) at a Paris auction, in a sale that attracted international collectors and brought to light an unpublished piece of French Impressionism.
The work, The Child and His Toys – Gabrielle and the Artist’s Son, Jean, was offered at the Hôtel Drouot during the Tableaux Modernes auction led by Christophe Joron-Derem. The hammer price reached €1.45 million before buyer’s fees. The initial estimate ranged from €1 million to €1.5 million, reflecting the anticipation surrounding a canvas whose existence had remained concealed for decades.

Painted in oil on a 54-by-65-centimeter canvas and dated between 1890 and 1895, the scene depicts young Jean Renoir seated on the lap of his nanny, Gabrielle Renard, while he plays with small figurines. The composition has been described as a “masterpiece of intimacy,” characteristic of the domestic focus that shaped Renoir’s later production.

The piece had never been exhibited or reproduced and arrived at auction in exceptional condition, requiring no restoration. Its rarity is heightened by the fact that it did not appear in the Wildenstein archives, a key reference for Renoir’s catalogue, which further boosted interest among specialists and high-profile buyers.

The painting remained in private ownership throughout its existence. Renoir gifted it to his student and close friend Jeanne Baudot, godmother to Jean, who kept it until her death in 1957. It was later inherited by Jean Griot, her adopted son, a member of the French Resistance and prominent figure in the country’s political and media circles, who kept the work hanging in his bedroom until his death in 2011. Since then, it had remained with his heirs.

The sale sheds new light on the artist’s domestic life. Gabrielle Renard, originally from Essoyes, was a central presence in the Renoir household and a recurring model in the painter’s work. Her influence extended to the child portrayed, who would later become one of the most influential filmmakers of the 20th century. Jean Renoir recalled that his father often painted spontaneous moments from his childhood: “He would seize on any activity that seemed to keep me quiet,” he once said.

The appearance of the painting adds to the limited group of studies of Gabrielle and Jean produced by Renoir during that period. Comparable versions are held at the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, underscoring the significance of this new addition to the artist’s body of work.

The sale highlights the enduring strength of the global Impressionist market and confirms the appeal of works with intimate provenance and exceptional documentation an increasingly coveted segment among international buyers and a consistent generator of notable figures in European auctions.