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Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "Renoir is the final representative of a tradition which runs directly from Rubens to
Watteau Jean-Antoine Watteau (, , ; baptised October 10, 1684died July 18, 1721) Alsavailablevia Oxford Art Online (subscription needed). was a French painter and draughtsman whose brief career spurred the revival of interest in colour and movement, as ...
." He was the father of actor Pierre Renoir (1885–1952), filmmaker Jean Renoir (1894–1979) and ceramic artist Claude Renoir (1901–1969). He was the grandfather of the filmmaker
Claude Renoir Claude Renoir (December 4, 1913Some sources, such as Ginette Vincendeau's ''Encyclopedia of European Cinema'', London: Cassell/BFI, 1995, p.328 indicate 1914 as his year of birth – September 5, 1993) was a French cinematographer. He was the ...
(1913–1993), son of Pierre.


Life


Youth

Pierre-Auguste Renoir was born in Limoges, Haute-Vienne, France, in 1841. His father, Léonard Renoir, was a tailor of modest means, so, in 1844, Renoir's family moved to Paris in search of more favorable prospects. The location of their home, in rue d’Argenteuil in central
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, placed Renoir in proximity to the Louvre. Although the young Renoir had a natural proclivity for drawing, he exhibited a greater talent for singing. His talent was encouraged by his teacher,
Charles Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...
, who was the choirmaster at the Church of St Roch at the time. However, due to the family's financial circumstances, Renoir had to discontinue his music lessons and leave school at the age of thirteen to pursue an apprenticeship at a
porcelain Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises main ...
factory. Although Renoir displayed a talent for his work, he frequently tired of the subject matter and sought refuge in the galleries of the
Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
. The owner of the factory recognized his apprentice's talent and communicated this to Renoir's family. Following this, Renoir started taking lessons to prepare for entry into Ecole des Beaux Arts. When the
porcelain Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises main ...
factory adopted mechanical reproduction processes in 1858, Renoir was forced to find other means to support his learning. Before he enrolled in art school, he also painted hangings for overseas missionaries and decorations on fans. In 1862, he began studying art under
Charles Gleyre Marc Gabriel Charles Gleyre (2 May 1806 – 5 May 1874), was a Swiss artist who was a resident in France from an early age. He took over the studio of Paul Delaroche in 1843 and taught a number of younger artists who became prominent, including H ...
in Paris. There he met
Alfred Sisley Alfred Sisley (; ; 30 October 1839 – 29 January 1899) was an Impressionist landscape painter who was born and spent most of his life in France, but retained British citizenship. He was the most consistent of the Impressionists in his dedicatio ...
, Frédéric Bazille, and
Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. Durin ...
. At times, during the 1860s, he did not have enough money to buy paint. Renoir had his first success at the Salon of 1868 with his painting ''
Lise with a Parasol ''Lise with a Parasol'' (french: Lise – La femme à l'ombrelle) is an oil on canvas painting by French artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir, created in 1867 during his early Salon period. The full-length painting depicts model Lise Tréhot posing in ...
'' (1867), which depicted
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 ...
, his lover at the time.
Distel, Anne Anne Distel (born Anne Dayez on 19 February 1947) is a French honorary general curator of heritage at the Musée d'Orsay and specialist in Impressionist paintings. She curated notable exhibitions such as ''Large monographie Renoir'', ''Cézanne et ...
. "Renoir, Auguste." ''Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online''. Oxford University Press. Web. 27 December 2014.
Although Renoir first started exhibiting paintings at the Paris Salon in 1864, recognition was slow in coming, partly as a result of the turmoil of the Franco-Prussian War. During the
Paris Commune The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended ...
in 1871, while Renoir painted on the banks of the
Seine River ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributaries ...
, some
Communards The Communards () were members and supporters of the short-lived 1871 Paris Commune formed in the wake of the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. After the suppression of the Commune by the French Army in May 1871, 43,000 Communards w ...
thought he was a spy and were about to throw him into the river, when a leader of the ''Commune'',
Raoul Rigault Raoul Adolphe Georges Rigault, (16 January 1846 in Paris, 24 May 1871 also in Paris) was a journalist and French Socialist revolutionary, best known for his role during the Paris Commune of 1871. He is most notable for his execution of Arch ...
, recognized Renoir as the man who had protected him on an earlier occasion. In 1874, a ten-year friendship with Jules Le Cœur and his family ended,Wadley, page 15. and Renoir lost not only the valuable support gained by the association but also a generous welcome to stay on their property near Fontainebleau and its scenic
forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
. This loss of a favorite painting location resulted in a distinct change of subjects.


Adulthood

Renoir was inspired by the style and subject matter of previous modern painters Camille Pissarro and
Édouard Manet Édouard Manet (, ; ; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism. Bo ...
. 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 Paul Durand-Ruel (31 October 1831, Paris – 5 February 1922, Paris) was a French art dealer associated with the Impressionists and the Barbizon School. Being the first to support artists such as Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, and Pierre-Auguste ...
in London. Hoping to secure a livelihood by attracting portrait commissions, Renoir 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; they included ''Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette'' and ''The Swing''. Renoir did not exhibit in the fourth or fifth Impressionist exhibitions, and instead resumed submitting his works to the Salon. 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. In 1881, he traveled to
Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...
, a country he associated with
Eugène Delacroix Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( , ; 26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school.Noon, Patrick, et al., ''Crossing the Channel: Britis ...
, then to
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
, to see the work of Diego Velázquez. Following that, he traveled to Italy to see
Titian Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian (Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, nea ...
's masterpieces in
Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...
and the paintings of
Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual a ...
in Rome. On 15 January 1882, Renoir met the composer Richard Wagner at his home in Palermo, Sicily. Renoir painted Wagner's portrait in just thirty-five minutes. In the same year, after contracting pneumonia which permanently damaged his respiratory system, Renoir convalesced for six weeks in Algeria.Wadley, p. 25. In 1883, Renoir spent the summer in Guernsey, one of the
islands An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
in the
English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
with a varied landscape of beaches, cliffs, and bays, where he created fifteen paintings in little over a month. Most of these feature ''Moulin Huet'', a bay in Saint Martin's, Guernsey. These paintings were the subject of a set of commemorative postage stamps issued by the Bailiwick of Guernsey in 1983. While living and working in Montmartre, Renoir employed
Suzanne Valadon Suzanne Valadon (23 September 18657 April 1938) was a French painter who was born Marie-Clémentine Valadon at Bessines-sur-Gartempe, Haute-Vienne, France. In 1894, Valadon became the first woman painter admitted to the Société Nationale des ...
as a model, who posed for him (''The Large Bathers'', 1884–1887; '' Dance at Bougival'', 1883) and many of his fellow painters; during that time she studied their techniques and eventually became one of the leading painters of the day. In 1887, the year when
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...
celebrated her Golden Jubilee, and upon the request of the queen's associate, Phillip Richbourg, Renoir donated several paintings to the "French Impressionist Paintings" catalog as a token of his loyalty. 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 ''Luncheon of the Boating Party'' french: Le Déjeuner des canotiers is an 1881 painting by French impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Included in the Seventh Impressionist Exhibition in 1882, it was identified as the best painting in the show ...
''; 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.


Later years

Around 1892, Renoir developed
rheumatoid arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects joints. It typically results in warm, swollen, and painful joints. Pain and stiffness often worsen following rest. Most commonly, the wrist and hands are invol ...
. 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 Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (; or , ; commonly shortened to PACA; en, Provence-Alps-French Riviera, italic=yes; also branded as Région Sud) is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, the far southeastern on the mainland. Its pref ...
, close to the
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...
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 Ankylosis is a stiffness of a joint due to abnormal adhesion and rigidity of the bones of the joint, which may be the result of injury or disease. The rigidity may be complete or partial and may be due to inflammation of the tendinous or muscular ...
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. The wrapping of his hands with bandages, apparent in late photographs of the artist, served to prevent skin irritation. In 1919, Renoir visited the
Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
to see his paintings hanging with those of the old masters. During this period, he created sculptures by cooperating with a young artist,
Richard Guino Richard Guino (in Catalan Ricard Guinó i Boix; May 26, 1890 – February, 1973) was a French sculptor of Catalan origin. His work is an ode to femininity which revives the Mediterranean ideal of beauty. Richard Guino brings about a synt ...
, who worked the clay. Due to his limited joint mobility, Renoir also used a moving canvas, or picture roll, to facilitate painting large works. Renoir's portrait of Austrian actress
Tilla Durieux Tilla Durieux (born Ottilie Godeffroy; 18 August 1880 – 21 February 1971) was an Austrian theatre and film actress of the first decades of the 20th century. Early Years Born Ottilie Helene Angela Godeffroy on 18 August 1880, she was the daug ...
(1914) contains playful flecks of vibrant color on her shawl that offset the classical pose of the actress and highlight Renoir's skill just five years before his death. Renoir died at Cagnes-sur-Mer on 3 December 1919.


Family legacy

Pierre-Auguste Renoir's great-grandson, Alexandre Renoir, has also become a professional artist. In 2018, the Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center in Hendersonville, Tennessee hosted ''Beauty Remains'', an exhibition of his works. The exhibition title comes from a famous quote by Pierre-Auguste who, when asked why he continued to paint with his painful arthritis in his advanced years, once said "The pain passes, but the beauty remains."


Artworks

Renoir's paintings are notable for their vibrant light and saturated color, most often focusing on people in intimate and candid compositions. The female nude was one of his primary subjects. However, in 1876, a reviewer in
Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of r ...
wrote "Try to explain to Monsieur Renoir that a woman's torso is not a mass of decomposing flesh with those purplish green stains that denote a state of complete putrefaction in a corpse." Yet in characteristic Impressionist style, Renoir suggested the details of a scene through freely brushed touches of colour, so that his figures softly fuse with one another and their surroundings. His initial paintings show the influence of the colorism of
Eugène Delacroix Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( , ; 26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school.Noon, Patrick, et al., ''Crossing the Channel: Britis ...
and the luminosity of Camille Corot. He also admired the realism of
Gustave Courbet Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( , , ; 10 June 1819 – 31 December 1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and ...
and
Édouard Manet Édouard Manet (, ; ; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism. Bo ...
, and his early work resembles theirs in his use of black as a color. Renoir admired Edgar Degas' sense of movement. Other painters Renoir greatly admired were the 18th-century masters François Boucher and
Jean-Honoré Fragonard Jean-Honoré Fragonard (; 5 April 1732 (birth/baptism certificate) – 22 August 1806) was a French painter and printmaker whose late Rococo manner was distinguished by remarkable facility, exuberance, and hedonism. One of the most prolific art ...
. A fine example of Renoir's early work and evidence of the influence of Courbet's realism, is '' Diana'', 1867. Ostensibly a mythological subject, the painting is a naturalistic studio work; the figure carefully observed, solidly modeled and superimposed upon a contrived landscape. If the work is a "student" piece, Renoir's heightened personal response to female sensuality is present. The model was Lise Tréhot, the artist's mistress at that time, and inspiration for a number of paintings. In the late 1860s, through the practice of painting light and water ''
en plein air ''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or ''plein air'' painting, is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting ...
'' (outdoors), he and his friend
Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. Durin ...
discovered that the color of shadows is not brown or black, but the reflected color of the objects surrounding them, an effect known today as
diffuse reflection Diffuse reflection is the reflection of light or other waves or particles from a surface such that a ray incident on the surface is scattered at many angles rather than at just one angle as in the case of specular reflection. An ''ideal'' di ...
. Several pairs of paintings exist in which Renoir and Monet worked side-by-side, depicting the same scenes (''La Grenouillère'', 1869). One of the best known Impressionist works is Renoir's 1876 ''Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette (
Bal du moulin de la Galette ''Bal du moulin de la Galette'' (commonly known as ''Dance at Le moulin de la Galette'') is an 1876 painting by French artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir. It is housed at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris and is one of Impressionism's most celebrated masterpi ...
)''. The painting depicts an open-air scene, crowded with people at a popular dance garden on the ''Butte Montmartre'' close to where he lived. The works of his early maturity were typically Impressionist snapshots of real life, full of sparkling color 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. It was a trip to Italy in 1881 when he saw works by
Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual a ...
,
Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...
,
Titian Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian (Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, nea ...
, and other
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...
masters, that convinced him that he was on the wrong path. At that point he declared, "I had gone as far as I could with Impressionism and I realized I could neither paint nor draw". For the next several years he painted in a more severe style in an attempt to return to classicism. Concentrating on his drawing and emphasizing the outlines of figures, he painted works such as ''
Blonde Bather ''Blonde Bather'' (''La baigneuse blonde'') is the name of two very similar paintings by French painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir, created in 1881 and 1882. The model was Aline Charigot, later to become Renoir's wife. Influenced by Renaissance pain ...
'' (1881 and 1882) and ''The Large Bathers'' (1884–87; Philadelphia Museum of Art) during what is sometimes referred to as his " Ingres period". After 1890 he changed direction again. To dissolve outlines, as in his earlier work, he returned to thinly brushed color. From this period onward he concentrated on monumental nudes and domestic scenes, fine examples of which are ''
Girls at the Piano ''Young Girls at the Piano'' (French: Jeunes filles au piano) is an oil-on-canvas painting by French artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir, a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. The painting was completed in 1892 as an informa ...
'', 1892, and '' Grandes Baigneuses'', 1887. The latter painting is the most typical and successful of Renoir's late, abundantly fleshed nudes. A prolific artist, he created several thousand paintings. The warm sensuality of Renoir's style made his paintings some of the most well-known and frequently reproduced works in the history of art. The single largest collection of his works—181 paintings in all—is at the
Barnes Foundation The Barnes Foundation is an art collection and educational institution promoting the appreciation of art and horticulture. Originally in Merion, the art collection moved in 2012 to a new building on Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia, Penn ...
, in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
.


Catalogue raisonné

A five-volume ''
catalogue raisonné A ''catalogue raisonné'' (or critical catalogue) is a comprehensive, annotated listing of all the known artworks by an artist either in a particular medium or all media. The works are described in such a way that they may be reliably identified ...
'' of Renoir's works (with one supplement) was published by
Bernheim-Jeune Bernheim-Jeune gallery is one of the oldest art galleries in Paris. Opened on Rue Laffitte in 1863 by Alexandre Bernheim (1839-1915), friend of Delacroix, Corot and Courbet, it changed location a few times before settling on Avenue Matignon. Th ...
between 1983 and 2014. Bernheim-Jeune is the only surviving major art dealer that was used by Renoir. The
Wildenstein Institute The Wildenstein Institute was a French art institute that published ''catalogues raisonnés'' and scholarly inventories. History The Institute was founded in 1970 by Daniel Wildenstein as the ''Fondation Wildenstein'', and it was renamed the Wild ...
is preparing, but has not yet published, a critical catalogue of Renoir's work. A disagreement between these two organizations concerning an unsigned work in
Picton Castle Picton Castle ( cy, Castell Pictwn) is a medieval castle near Haverfordwest in the community of Uzmaston, Boulston and Slebech, Pembrokeshire, Wales. Originally built at the end of the 13th century by a Flemish knight, it later came into the ha ...
was at the centre of the second episode of the fourth season of the television series ''
Fake or Fortune ''Fake or Fortune?'' is a BBC One documentary television series which examines the provenance and attribution of notable artworks. Since the first series aired in 2011, ''Fake or Fortune?'' has drawn audiences of up to 5 million viewers in ...
''.


Posthumous prints

In 1919, Ambroise Vollard, a renowned art dealer, published a book on the life and work of Renoir, ''La Vie et l'Œuvre de Pierre-Auguste Renoir'', in an edition of 1000 copies. In 1986, Vollard's heirs started reprinting the copper plates, generally,
etching Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...
s with hand applied
watercolor Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to ...
. These prints are signed by Renoir in the plate and are embossed "Vollard" in the lower margin. They are not numbered, dated or signed in pencil.


Posthumous sales

A small version of ''
Bal du moulin de la Galette ''Bal du moulin de la Galette'' (commonly known as ''Dance at Le moulin de la Galette'') is an 1876 painting by French artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir. It is housed at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris and is one of Impressionism's most celebrated masterpi ...
'' sold for $78.1 million 17 May 1990 at Sotheby's New York. In 2012, Renoir's ''
Paysage Bords de Seine ''Paysage Bords de Seine'' (''On the Shore of the Seine'' or ''Landscape on the Banks of the Seine'') is an 1879 oil painting by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. It was stolen in 1951 from the Baltimore Museum of Art and resurfaced in 2012. History ''Pay ...
'' was offered for sale at auction but the painting was discovered to have been stolen from the
Baltimore Museum of Art The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, is an art museum that was founded in 1914. The BMA's collection of 95,000 objects encompasses more than 1,000 works by Henri Matisse anchored by the Cone Collection of ...
in 1951. The sale was cancelled.


Gallery of paintings


Portraits and landscapes

File:Lise Sewing - 1866.jpg, ''Lise Sewing'', 1866,
Dallas Museum of Art The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) is an art museum located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, along Woodall Rodgers Freeway between St. Paul and Harwood. In the 1970s, the museum moved from its previous location in Fair Park to the Art ...
File:Renoir11.jpg, ''La Grenouillère'', 1868, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm File:Pierre-Auguste Renoir 110.jpg, ''Portrait of
Alfred Sisley Alfred Sisley (; ; 30 October 1839 – 29 January 1899) was an Impressionist landscape painter who was born and spent most of his life in France, but retained British citizenship. He was the most consistent of the Impressionists in his dedicatio ...
'', 1868 File:Pierre-Auguste Renoir 090.jpg, ''Pont-Neuf'', 1872 File:Pierre-Auguste Renoir 083.jpg, ''
Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. Durin ...
Painting in His Garden at
Argenteuil Argenteuil () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Argenteuil is a sub-prefecture of the Val-d'Oise department, the seat of the arrondissement of Argenteuil. Argenteuil is the sec ...
'', 1873,
Wadsworth Atheneum The Wadsworth Atheneum is an art museum in Hartford, Connecticut. The Wadsworth is noted for its collections of European Baroque art, ancient Egyptian and Classical bronzes, French and American Impressionist paintings, Hudson River School lands ...
,
Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...
, Connecticut File:Pierre-Auguste Renoir 089.jpg, '' La Parisienne'', 1874, ( Henriette Henriot),
National Museum Cardiff National Museum Cardiff ( cy, Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Caerdydd) is a museum and art gallery in Cardiff, Wales. The museum is part of the wider network of Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales. Entry is kept free by a grant from the Welsh Gov ...
File:Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Danseuse.jpg, ''The Dancer'', 1874, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. File:Auguste Renoir - Claude Monet - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Portrait of
Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. Durin ...
'', 1875, Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France File:Pierre-Auguste Renoir, French - The Grands Boulevards - Google Art Project.jpg, '' The Grands Boulevards'', 1875, Philadelphia Museum of Art File:Auguste Renoir - A Girl with a Watering Can - Google Art Project.jpg, '' A Girl with a Watering Can'', 1876, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. File:Pierre-Auguste Renoir - Portrait of Jeanne Durand-Ruel (Portrait de Mlle. J.) - BF950 - Barnes Foundation.jpg, ''Portrait of Jeanne Durand-Ruel'', 1876,
Barnes Foundation The Barnes Foundation is an art collection and educational institution promoting the appreciation of art and horticulture. Originally in Merion, the art collection moved in 2012 to a new building on Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia, Penn ...
, Philadelphia File:Pierre-Auguste Renoir - La Promenade - Google Art Project.jpg, '' Mother and Children'', 1876, Frick Collection, New York City File:Pierre-Auguste Renoir 096.jpg, ''Portrait of
Jeanne Samary Jeanne Samary (4 March 1857 as Léontine Pauline Jeanne Samary in Neuilly-sur-Seine – 18 September 1890 in Paris) was a French actress at the Comédie-Française and a model for Auguste Renoir, including for Renoir's 1881 painting, ''Lunc ...
'', 1877, Pushkin Museum, Moscow File:Renoir - Madame Georges Charpentier et ses enfants.jpg, ''Mme. Charpentier and her children'', 1878,
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
, New York File:Renoir - Portrait of Alphonsine Fournaise.JPG, ''Portrait of Alphonsine Fournaise,'' 1879, Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France File:Pierre-Auguste Renoir - La Yole.jpg, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, ''Boating on the Seine (La Yole)'', c. 1879 File:Pierre-Auguste Renoir - By the Water.jpg, ''By the Water'', 1880, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois File:Pierre-August Renoir Sleeping Girl with a Cat.jpg, ''Sleeping Girl with a Cat'',
Clark Art Institute The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, commonly referred to as the Clark, is an art museum and research institution located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. Its collection consists of European and American paintings, sculp ...
, Williamstown, Massachusetts File:Renoir Mlles Cahen d Anvers.jpg, '' Pink and Blue'' showing Alice and Elisabeth Cahen d'Anvers, 1881,
São Paulo Museum of Art The São Paulo Museum of Art ( pt, Museu de Arte de São Paulo, or ') is an art museum located on Paulista Avenue in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. It is well known for its headquarters, a 1968 concrete and glass structure designed by Lina Bo ...
, São Paulo File:Pierre Auguste Renoir - The Piazza San Marco, Venice - Google Art Project.jpg, ''The Piazza San Marco, Venice'', 1881 (Minneapolis Institute of Art) File:Pierre-Auguste Renoir - Jeanne Henriot.jpg, ''Fillette au chapeau bleu'', 1881, ( Jane Henriot), private collection File:Pierre-Auguste Renoir 107.jpg, ''Portrait of Charles and Georges
Durand-Ruel Paul Durand-Ruel (31 October 1831, Paris – 5 February 1922, Paris) was a French art dealer associated with the Impressionists and the Barbizon School. Being the first to support artists such as Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, and Pierre-Auguste ...
'', 1882 File:Dance-At-Bougival.jpg, '' Dance at Bougival'', 1882–1883, (woman at left is painter
Suzanne Valadon Suzanne Valadon (23 September 18657 April 1938) was a French painter who was born Marie-Clémentine Valadon at Bessines-sur-Gartempe, Haute-Vienne, France. In 1894, Valadon became the first woman painter admitted to the Société Nationale des ...
),
Boston Museum of Fine Arts The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 paintings and more than 450,000 works ...
File:Pierre Auguste Renoir - Country Dance - Google Art Project.jpg, ''
Dance in the Country ''Dance in the Country'' (French: ''Danse à la campagne'') is an 1883 oil painting by French artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir. It is currently kept at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. Background This painting was commissioned in 1882 by the merchant Pa ...
'' (''Aline Charigot and Paul Lhote''), 1883, Musée d'Orsay, Paris File:Pierre-Auguste Renoir 019.jpg, '' Dance in the City'', 1883, Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France File:Pierre-Auguste Renoir - Children on the Seashore, Guernsey (Enfants au bord de la mer à Guernesey) - BF10 - Barnes Foundation.jpg, ''Children at the Beach at Guernsey,'' 1883,
Barnes Foundation The Barnes Foundation is an art collection and educational institution promoting the appreciation of art and horticulture. Originally in Merion, the art collection moved in 2012 to a new building on Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia, Penn ...
, Philadelphia File:Pierre-Auguste Renoir - Sailor Boy (Portrait of Robert Nunès) - BF325 - Barnes Foundation.jpg, ''Jeune garçon sur la plage d'Yport'', 1883,
Barnes Foundation The Barnes Foundation is an art collection and educational institution promoting the appreciation of art and horticulture. Originally in Merion, the art collection moved in 2012 to a new building on Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia, Penn ...
, Philadelphia File:Girl with a Hoop.JPG, ''Girl With a Hoop'', 1885, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. File:Pierre-Auguste Renoir - Suzanne Valadon - La Natte - Girl Braiding Her Hair.jpg, '' Girl Braiding Her Hair (
Suzanne Valadon Suzanne Valadon (23 September 18657 April 1938) was a French painter who was born Marie-Clémentine Valadon at Bessines-sur-Gartempe, Haute-Vienne, France. In 1894, Valadon became the first woman painter admitted to the Société Nationale des ...
)'', 1885 File:GUGG Still Life Flowers.jpg, '' Still Life: Flowers'', 1885,
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, often referred to as The Guggenheim, is an art museum at 1071 Fifth Avenue on the corner of East 89th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It is the permanent home of a continuously exp ...
, New York File:Pierre Auguste Renoir - Tamaris, France - 2006.9.2 - Minneapolis Institute of Arts.jpg, ''Tamaris, France'', c. 1885 (Minneapolis Institute of Art) File:La Roche Guyon - Pierre Auguste Renoir - ABDAG003043.jpg, ''La Roche Guyon'', 1885–86,
Aberdeen Art Gallery Aberdeen Art Gallery is the main visual arts exhibition space in the city of Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1884 in a building designed by Alexander Marshall Mackenzie, with a sculpture court added in 1905. In 1900, it received the art ...
File:Auguste Renoir - Julie Manet - Google Art Project.jpg, ''
Julie Manet Julie Manet (14 November 1878 – 14 July 1966) was a French painter, model, diarist, and art collector. Biography Born in Paris, Manet was the daughter and only child of artist Berthe Morisot and Eugène Manet, younger brother of painter Édouar ...
with cat,'' 1887 File:Pierre-Auguste Renoir - Jeune fille au ruban bleu.jpg, '' Young Woman with a Blue Choker'', 1888 File:Renoir - Jeune fille se peignant (La Toilette), 1894.jpg, ''Young Girl with Red Hair'', 1894 File:Berthe Morisot and her daughter Julie Manet 1894.jpg, ''Portrait of Berthe Morisot and daughter
Julie Manet Julie Manet (14 November 1878 – 14 July 1966) was a French painter, model, diarist, and art collector. Biography Born in Paris, Manet was the daughter and only child of artist Berthe Morisot and Eugène Manet, younger brother of painter Édouar ...
'', 1894 File:Pierre Auguste Renoir - Head of a Young Woman - 61.15 - Minneapolis Institute of Arts.jpg, ''Head of a Young Woman'', late 19th century (
Minneapolis Institute of Art The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) is an arts museum located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Home to more than 90,000 works of art representing 5,000 years of world history, Mia is one of the largest art museums in the United State ...
) File:Gabrielle et Jean, by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, from C2RMF cropped.jpg, '' Gabrielle Renard and infant son Jean Renoir'', 1895 File:Pierre-Auguste Renoir - The Artist's Family (La Famille de l'artiste) - BF819 - Barnes Foundation.jpg, ''The Artist's Family'', 1896, The
Barnes Foundation The Barnes Foundation is an art collection and educational institution promoting the appreciation of art and horticulture. Originally in Merion, the art collection moved in 2012 to a new building on Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia, Penn ...
, Philadelphia File:Pierre-Auguste Renoir 106.jpg, ''Portrait of Ambroise Vollard'', 1908 File:Pierre-Auguste Renoir 113.jpg, ''Portrait of
Paul Durand-Ruel Paul Durand-Ruel (31 October 1831, Paris – 5 February 1922, Paris) was a French art dealer associated with the Impressionists and the Barbizon School. Being the first to support artists such as Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, and Pierre-Auguste ...
'', 1910 File:Ambroise Vollard by Pierre-Auguste Renoir.jpg, ''Portrait of Ambroise Vollard'', 1917 File:Pierre-Auguste Renoir 036.jpg, ''Woman with a Mandolin'', 1919


Self-portraits

File:Pierre-Auguste Renoir - Autoportrait, 1875.jpg, '' Self-portrait'', 1875 File:Renoir24.jpg, '' Self-portrait'', 1876 File:Renoir Self-Portrait 1910.jpg, '' Self-portrait'', 1910 File:Pierre-Auguste Renoir - Autoportrait 5.JPG, '' Self-portrait'', 1910


Nudes

File:Pierre-Auguste Renoir 020.jpg, '' Diana'', 1867, The National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC File:Pierre-Auguste Renoir - Torse, effet de soleil.jpg, ''Nude in the Sun'', 1875, Musée d'Orsay, Paris File:Femme Nue dans un Paysage, by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, from C2RMF cropped.jpg, ''Seated Girl'', 1883 File:Pierre-Auguste Renoir, French - The Large Bathers - Google Art Project.jpg, '' The Large Bathers'', 1887, Philadelphia Museum of Art File:Pierre-Auguste Renoir 085.jpg, ''After The Bath'', 1888 File:Pierre-Auguste Renoir - Trois Baigneuses au crabe.jpg, ''Three Bathers'', 1895, Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, Ohio File:Renoir's Nude.jpg, '' Nude'',
National Museum of Serbia The National Museum of Serbia ( sr, / ) is the largest and oldest museum in Belgrade, Serbia. It is located in the central zone of Belgrade on a square plot between the Republic Square, formerly Theatre Square, and three streets: Čika Ljubina ...
, Belgrade File:Renoir18.jpg, '' After The Bath'', 1910,
Barnes Foundation The Barnes Foundation is an art collection and educational institution promoting the appreciation of art and horticulture. Originally in Merion, the art collection moved in 2012 to a new building on Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia, Penn ...
, Philadelphia File:Pierre-Auguste Renoir 030.jpg, ''Woman at the Well'', 1910 File:Pierre-Auguste Renoir - Baigneuse assise s'essuyant une jambe.jpg, ''Seated Bather Drying Her Leg'', 1914,
Musée de l'Orangerie The Musée de l'Orangerie ( en, Orangery Museum) is an art gallery of impressionist and post-impressionist paintings located in the west corner of the Tuileries Garden next to the Place de la Concorde in Paris. The museum is most famous as the ...
, Paris File:Bathing Women (Auguste Renoir) - Nationalmuseum - 19163.tif, ''Women Bathers'', 1916, National Museum, Stockholm File:Pierre Auguste Renoir Les baigneuses.jpg, ''Bathers'', 1918,
Barnes Foundation The Barnes Foundation is an art collection and educational institution promoting the appreciation of art and horticulture. Originally in Merion, the art collection moved in 2012 to a new building on Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia, Penn ...
, Philadelphia


Interactive image


Close-ups


See also

*
List of paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir This is an incomplete list of paintings by Impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Renoir painted about 4000 paintings that have sold at auction for as much as $78.1 million (in 1990). The largest collection of Renoir paintings is at the Barn ...


References


Further reading

* * * * Kang, Cindy
“Auguste Renoir (1841–1919).”
In ''Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History''. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. (May 2011) * * *


External links

On 7 December 2019 th
Alberta Symphony Orchestra
presented
Tribute to Renoir
at Triffo Theater in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, under the direction of pianist and conducto
Emilio De Mercato
for the 100th anniversary of the death of Renoir. * *

* ttp://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15324coll10/id/78705/rec/222 ''Impressionism: a centenary exhibition'' an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Renoir (p. 179–200)
''Renoir works at the Art Institute of Chicago''
a digital catalogue * * * , (1:49) Frick Collection * , (6:14) Frick Collection {{DEFAULTSORT:Renoir, Pierre-Auguste 1841 births 1919 deaths People from Limoges French portrait painters French Impressionist painters 19th-century French painters French male painters 20th-century French painters 20th-century male artists École des Beaux-Arts alumni Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur French people of the Franco-Prussian War Members of the Ligue de la patrie française People of Montmartre Pierre-Auguste