Portrait of Ambroise Vollard

At the beginning of the 20th century, Ambroise Vollard was one of the leading advocates for modern art. He became Pierre-Auguste Renoir's main art dealer after 1900. In this flattering portrait, Renoir depicts the shrewd businessman as a thoughtful connoisseur. Vollard is represented examining the statuette of a kneeling female nude by the contemporary sculptor Aristide Maillol. Such depictions of learned collectors belong to a long tradition stretching back to the Renaissance.