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Pierre Auguste Renoir
Pierre-Auguste Renoir ( 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French painter originally associated with the Impressionist movement. His early works were typically Impressionist snapshots of real life, full of sparkling colour and light. By the mid-1880s, however, he had broken with the movement to apply a more disciplined, formal technique to portraits and figure paintings, particularly of women as a celebrator of beauty and feminine sensuality.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir was born in Limoges, Haute-Vienne, France, in 1841. Renoir was born into a family of artisans. His father, a tailor who had seven children, moved with his family to Paris about 1845. Renoir’s family moved to Paris in search of more favorable prospects. The location of their home, in rue d’Argenteuil in central Paris, placed Renoir in proximity to the Louvre. Renoir demonstrated his gift at an early age. Quickly recognizing his talent, his parents apprenticed him, at age 13, to work in a porcelain factory, where he learned to decorate plates with bouquets of flowers.
His skill and the great pleasure he took in his work soon convinced him he should study painting in earnest. Having saved a little money, he decided, in 1862, to take evening courses in drawing and anatomy at the École des Beaux-Arts as well as painting lessons at the studio of Charles Gleyre, a Swiss painter who had been a student of the 19th-century Neoclassical painter Jean-Auguste-Dominque Ingres. Although the academic style of his teacher did not suit Renoir, he nevertheless accepted its discipline in order to acquire the elementary skills needed to become a painter. It was here that he met Alfred Sisley, Frédéric Bazille, and Claude Monet. Renoir had his first success at the Salon of 1868 with his painting Lise with a Parasol (1867), which depicted Lise Tréhot, his lover at the time.
Renoir was inspired by the style and subject matter of previous modern painters Camille Pissarro and Édouard Manet. After a series of rejections by the Salon juries, he joined forces with Monet, Sisley, Pissarro, and several other artists to mount the first Impressionist exhibition in April 1874, in which Renoir displayed six paintings. Although the critical response to the exhibition was largely unfavorable, Renoir’s work was comparatively well received. That same year, two of his works were shown with Durand-Ruel in London.
Conditions were ripe for the birth of a new pictorial language, and Impressionism, bursting upon the scene, attracted notoriety with the first Impressionist exposition of 1874, held independently of the official Salon. It took 10 years for the movement to acquire its definitive form, its independent vision, and its unique perceptiveness. But one can point to 1874 as the year of departure for the movement that subsequently spawned modern art. Renoir’s work is a perfect illustration of this new approach in thought and technique. By using small, multicoloured strokes, he evoked the vibration of the atmosphere, the sparkling effect of foliage, and especially the luminosity of a young woman’s skin in the outdoors. Renoir and his companions stubbornly strove to produce light-suffused paintings from which black was excluded, but their pursuits led to many disappointments: their paintings, so divergent from traditional formulas, were frequently rejected by the juries of the Salon and were extremely difficult to sell.
Renoir, because of his fascination with the human figure, was distinctive among the others, who were more interested in landscape. Thus, he obtained several orders for portraits and was introduced, thanks to the publisher Georges Charpentier, to upper-middle-class society, from whom he obtained commissions for portraits, most notably of women and children.
Renoir mastered the ability to convey his immediate visual impressions, and his paintings showed great vitality, emphasizing the pleasures of life despite the financial worries that troubled him. He displayed mostly portraits at the second Impressionist exhibition in 1876. He contributed a more diverse range of paintings the next year when the group presented its third exhibition; several of his masterpieces date from this period: La Loge (1874; Theatre Box), Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette (1876), Luncheon of the Boating Party (1880–81). By the end of the 1870s, particularly after the success of his painting Mme Charpentier and her Children (1878) at the Salon of 1879, Renoir was a successful and fashionable painter. Charpentier organized a personal exposition for the works of Renoir in 1879 in the gallery La Vie Moderne.
In 1881 and 1882 Renoir made several trips to Algeria, Italy, and Provence, and these eventually had a considerable effect on his art and on his life. During his journey to Italy, he discovered Raphael and the hallmarks of classicism: the beauty of drawing, the purity of a clear line to define a form, and the expressive force of smooth painting when used to enhance the suppleness and modeling of a body.
In 1890, he married Aline Victorine Charigot, a dressmaker twenty years his junior, who, along with a number of the artist’s friends, had already served as a model for Le Déjeuner des canotiers (Luncheon of the Boating Party; she is the woman on the left playing with the dog) in 1881, and with whom he had already had a child, Pierre, in 1885. After marrying, Renoir painted many scenes of his wife and daily family life including their children and their nurse, Aline’s cousin Gabrielle Renard. The Renoirs had three sons: Pierre Renoir (1885–1952), who became a stage and film actor; Jean Renoir (1894–1979), who became a filmmaker of note; and Claude Renoir (1901–1969), who became a ceramic artist.
Around 1892, Renoir developed rheumatoid arthritis. In 1907, he moved to the warmer climate of “Les Collettes,” a farm at the village of Cagnes-sur-Mer, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, close to the Mediterranean coast. Renoir painted during the last twenty years of his life even after his arthritis severely limited his mobility. He developed progressive deformities in his hands and ankylosis of his right shoulder, requiring him to change his painting technique. It has often been reported that in the advanced stages of his arthritis, he painted by having a brush strapped to his paralyzed fingers, but this is erroneous; Renoir remained able to grasp a brush, although he required an assistant to place it in his hand.
Renoir’s paintings during this period still embodied a cheerful attitude toward life. His themes became more personal and intimate, focusing on portraits of his wife, his children, and Gabrielle, his maid, who often also posed for his nude paintings. His still lifes were composed of flowers and fruits from his own garden, and the landscapes were those that surrounded him. The nudes, especially, reflect the serenity that he found in his work. Examples of this period include The Artist’s Family (1896) and Girl Sleeping (c. 1897). He attempted to embody his admiration for the female form in sculpture, with the assistance of young Richard Guino. Since Renoir was no longer able to do sculpture himself, Guino became, about 1913, the skillful instrument who willingly followed his directions. He yielded before the personality of Renoir and succeeded so well that the works have all the qualities of Renoir’s style.
Renoir’s wife died in 1915 after having returned from Gérardmer, where she had gone to see their son Jean, who had been seriously wounded in the war, and who would go on to become an important filmmaker. Renoir survived his wife by four years. Several months before his death, he was able to go to Paris to see his Portrait of Madame Georges Charpentier, which had been recently acquired by the state. On that occasion, In 1919, several friends wheeled him for the last time through the Louvre to view the masterpieces that he had venerated throughout his life.
Renoir died at Cagnes-sur-Mer on 3 December 1919.
Renoir’s, Au Moulin de la Galette became one of the world’s most expensive paintings when it sold for $78 million back in 1990 at Sotheby’s in New York City, New York, L’ombrelle sold for £9,673,250 at auction inFfeb 2013.
Read moreShowing 301–400 of 581 results
The Piazza San Marco, Venice
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $259.00Gondola, Venise
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $259.00Skaters in the Bois De Boulogne
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $369.00Place De La Trinite
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $359.00The Grands Boulevards
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $339.00Paris, Le Quai Malaquais
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $339.00St. Tropez
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $269.00Oarsmen at Chatou 1879
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $259.00View of Bougival 1873
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $269.00Port Du Pornic
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $269.00The Bridge at Argenteuil
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $249.00The Skiff (La Yole)
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $269.00The Seine at Argenteuil
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $269.00The Blue River
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $279.00The Seine at Chatou
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $259.00La Maison De La Poste a Cagnes
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $299.00La Mer a Bordighera
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $299.00The Pont Des Arts Paris
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $309.00House at Cagnes 1907
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $339.00Port De Marseille, Le Fort Saint-Jean, 1906
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $299.00Bay of Naples, Evening, 1881
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $279.00Fort Square and Phare of Antibes, 1916
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $299.00La Rochelle
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $289.00A Dos De Chameau, 1881
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $239.00The Mosque
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $369.00Calvary and Church of Nizon (Near Pont-Aven)
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $259.00Jeunes Filles a Argenteuil
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $269.00Paysage Bord Du Seine
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $299.00Women in a Garden, 1873
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $269.00Capo Di Monte, Sorrente (Baie De Naples), 1881
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $269.00Lakeside Landscape
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $269.00View Close To Antibes
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $259.00View of Antibes
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $269.00Un Jardin a Sorrente, 1881
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $269.00Paysage a Cagnes
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $259.00Woman with a Parasol in a Garden 1875
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $269.00Landscape 1912
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $269.00Rocky Crags at L’estaque
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $259.00Le Poirier, Circa 1870
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $259.00In the Woods
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $259.00L’allée Couverte
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $279.00The Painter Le Coeur Hunting in the Fontainebleau Forest 1866
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $269.00Sentier Dans Le Bois
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $249.00The Duck Pond
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $259.00Paysage
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $259.00Chemin Montant Dans Les Hautes Herbes
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $279.00Bois De La Chaise (Noirmoutier)
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $259.00La Promenade Au Bord De La Mer
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $259.00Paysage Et Rivière Vue De Mourillon
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $269.00Route a Berneval 1880
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $259.00Coucher De Soleil a Douarnenez
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $269.00Gabrielle with a Rose
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $279.00Gabrielle with Jewellery
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $279.00Femme En Chemise Blanc
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $279.00Woman in Blue
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $279.00Gabrielle with Open Blouse
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $279.00Young Woman with a Pink in Hair, 1902
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $269.00Dark-Haired Woman
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $279.00Buste De Femme Nue, Circa 1900
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $279.00Two Women with Flowered Hats
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $309.00Bathers
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $379.00Three Bathers, 1895
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $379.00Étude De Baigneuses
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $389.00The Judgment of Paris
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $399.00Baigneuses
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $399.00The Bathers
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $429.00A Bather
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $289.00Bathroom (Assisi) 1882
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $299.00Baigneuse Assise, Circa 1915
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $279.00Baigneuse
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $289.00Étude De Nu (Après Le Bain)
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $289.00Naked Woman in Her Gold Toilet Woman Wiping Herself, 1913
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $279.00Seated Bather
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $259.00Woman After Bath
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $289.00After the Bath 1876
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $279.00Nude Seated on a Sofa
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $289.00Baigneuse Blonde
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $279.00Blonde Bather
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $279.00Etter Badet
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $259.00Le Torse Nu
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $289.00Baigneuse Debout
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $299.00At East
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $269.00Baigneuse Assise
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $269.00Baigneuse Au Linge
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $279.00Baigneuse
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $289.00Bather Arranging Her Hair
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $279.00Bather Drying Her Right Arm (Large Sitting Nude) 1912
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $279.00Bather Drying Herself
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $289.00Baigneuse Accoudée
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $289.00Bather Drying Herself
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $279.00Bather with Long Hair
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $279.00Nude in an Armchair
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $269.00Seated Bather
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $279.00Standing Bather
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $289.00The Sleeping Bather
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $279.00Young Girl Bathing
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $279.00Bather Seated on a Rock
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $279.00Bather
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $279.00Nude in a Landscape
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $279.00Nude Woman, Louise Bengel, 1905
By Pierre Auguste RenoirSizes starting at $269.00