PIERRE-AUGUSTE RENOIR 1841 Limoges - 1919 Cagnes-Sur-Mer (France)
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PIERRE-AUGUSTE RENOIR 1841 Limoges - 1919 Cagnes-sur-mer (France) “I am so lucky to have painting, which even very late in life still furnishes illusions and sometimes joy.” Pierre-Auguste Renoir 1841 Pierre-Auguste Renoir was born on 25th February 1841 in Limoges, France. His parents, a tailor and a seamstress, had seven children. Pierre-Auguste was the couple’s sixth child, but two of his older siblings died in infancy. The family moved to Paris sometime between 1844 and 1846, where they lived near the Louvre museum. The Renoir family was poor, and Pierre-Auguste had to leave school THE HOUSE OF RENOIR at the age of 13 in order to earn money. He became an apprentice to The House of Renoir. seated Greta Prozar a porcelain painter in a Parisian factory and undertook other types and Auguste Renoir, standing Claude Renoir, of decorative painting to make a living. In his spare time he took Matisse & Pierre Renoir. free drawing classes at a city-sponsored art school, run by sculptor LIMOGES, FRANCE Birth place of Pierre-Auguste Renoir Louis-Denis Caillouette. Using imitation as a learning tool, Renoir copied some of the great works hanging in the Louvre. 1862 In 1862 Renoir entered the École des Beaux-Arts, and also became a student of Charles Gleyre. At Gleyre’s studio, Renoir befriended Frédéric Bazille, Claude Monet and Alfred Sisley. Through Monet, he met such emerging talents as Camille Pissarro and Paul Cézanne. ECOLE DES BEAUX-ARTS Paris, France Two of Renoir’s paintings were shown at the prestigious Paris Salons in 1864 and 1865, but he still struggled to make ends meet. He often stayed with friends and shared their studios during his early career. SELF PORTRAIT Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Oil on Canvas, 1875 1890 Renoir married Aline Charigot in 1890. The couple already had a son, Pierre, and went on to have two more sons, Jean and Claude. Aline served as a model for many of his works, including ‘L’Enfant au Sein’ (Mother Nursing her Child, 1886). 1907 In 1907 Renoir bought some land in Cagnes-sur-Mer where he built a stately home for his family. He continued to work, although the rheumatism that had LISE IN A WHITE SHAWL started in his fifties disfigured his hands, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Oil on Canvas, 1871 leaving his fingers permanently curled. The artist also had a stroke in 1912, which left him in a wheelchair. Renoir died in 1867 1919 at his home in Cagnes-sur-Mer and was buried next to Aline, who had died four years previously, in her hometown Around 1867, Renoir met Lise Tréhot, a of Essoyes. seamstress who became his model. According to some reports they had a daughter, Jeanne, but Renoir never publicly acknowledged her. The artist was drafted into the army in 1870 to serve his country in the Franco-Prussian War, but he soon fell ill with dysentery and never MOTHER NURSING HER CHILD saw any action during the war. Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Oil on Canvas, 1886 Renoir produced approximately 6000 paintings as well as pastels, drawings and sculptures. He was an inspiration to many other artists, RENOIR STATELY HOME including Pierre Bonnard, Henri Matisse and Cagnes-sur-Mer, France Pablo Picasso. “I was an extremely hardworking student; I ground away at academic painting; I studied the classes, but I did not obtain the least honourable mention, and my professors were unanimous in finding my painting execrable.” Pierre-Auguste Renoir PIERRE AUGUST RENOIR The French painter toward the end of his life IMPRESSIONISM A journey through the eyes of a master After years as a struggling painter, Renoir helped launch an artistic movement called Impressionism in the 1870s. The Impressionists were a rare breed of artists who rejected the rigid rules of the fine arts and demonstrated a new way of picturing the world. IMPRESSION, SUNRISE THE MEADOWS AT ÉRAGNY, APPLE Claude Monet, Oil on Canvas, 1872 Camille Pissarro, Oil on Canvas, 1894 A MODERN OLYMPIA PORT BOURGOGNE Paul Cezanne, Oil on Canvas, 1870 Sisley Moret, Oil on Canvas, 1891 After Renoir and his colleagues found their work rejected by the Salon, they got together to work on their own exhibition. This ground-breaking first Impressionist exhibition, held in 1874, would change the course of art history. The Impressionists were drawn to the transient effects of sunlight, which allowed them to work quickly in the open air. Renoir chose a bright colour palette for his paintings, and used feathery brushstrokes to capture his artistic vision on canvas. In contrast to Monet, people were of more interest to Renoir than landscapes. French writer Emile Zola said, “Renoir is above all a painter of people… You feel that you are seeing Rubens illuminated by the fiery light of Velazquez.” THE DANCER Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Oil on Canvas, 1874 The 18th-century painter Watteau and ancient Athens were great inspirations for Renoir. Watteau himself was inspired by the writings of the Goncourt brothers, and his influence can be seen in Renoir’s work, as he paints with a poetic vision of an earthly paradise amid idyllic and dreamlike natural surroundings. IMPRESSIONISM A journey through the eyes of a master In 1883 the French Impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir and a group of friends spent just over a month in Guernsey, staying at 4 George Road, St Peter Port. Renoir wrote a letter from his lodgings, describing how he “watched Normandy disappearing” and stopped off in Jersey on his way to Guernsey. Renoir worked on 15 pictures during his stay, the majority depicting views of Moulin Huet. The bay is a popular spot for artists due to its particular light and the way it sprawls itself on the rocks. Located on Guernsey’s jagged south coast, it is within walking distance of Renoir’s lodgings. He finished the paintings on his return to his Paris studio. MAKE AN IMPRESSION STONE BROKE The term ‘Impressionists’ is derived from At times during the a critical review of their first exhibition, 1860s, Renoir didn’t which referred to the works as ‘impressions’ have enough money rather than finished paintings done using to buy paint! traditional methods. SEIZED IN 1871 During the Paris Commune in 1871, Renoir was painting on the banks of the Seine when he was seized by National Guards, who thought he was a spy sketching river defences. He was taken off to be executed by firing squad but one of the leaders of the Commune, Raoul Rigault, recognised Renoir as the man who had hidden him a few years earlier when he was on the run from the police. Rigault promptly set him free. Renoir was fascinated by Guernsey, particularly the south coast with its geological My dear Friend, structure and stunning bays. The beach dwellers themselves also entranced the artist. He made a link between the idea of nudity in Athens and the casually Once on the boat, like a child playing truant, I watched Normandy disappearing and, I must admit it, I regretted the undressed locals in modern life. good friends who were waiting for me; but the beautiful sea, though rough, had such charm and I am so weak that finally I gave in to the pleasure of watching the rise and fall of these beautiful masses of water, tinted with the most beautiful colours. We reached Jersey (for we are a group). There we visited the island like simple bourgeois, for now I need only Switzerland to become a perfect bonnet-maker. SOLD $78.1m But Guernsey was our goal, and despite the admirable sites which unfolded before our delighted gaze, we waited impatiently for the One of Renoir’s boat which was to take us to see the rock upon which the great poet lamented for eighteen years. At last the whistle sounded and paintings, ‘Bal du in calm sunny weather we sailed round Jersey on our way to our Moulin de la Galette’, goal. What a pretty little place! What pretty paths! Superb rocks, beaches such as Robinson must have had on his island, as well as sold for $78.1 million rump steak and ale at manageable prices — up to now, everything on 17th May 1990 at is fine. All I have to do is to take advantage of the admirable weather and to bring you back some nice things so that you Sotheby’s in New York. forgive my infidelity to beautiful Normandy.” Letter from Renoir to Edmond Maître, from 4 George Road, St Peter Port, 5th September 1883 Renior in guernsey A journey through the eyes of a master Renoir’s paintings of Guernsey took several years to sell but they have since been recognised as valuable masterpieces. One of them now hangs in the National Gallery in London and others are in the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Renoir devoted considerable time to a piece named ‘Brouillard à Guernesey’ (Fog in Guernsey), where he replicated the obscuring 25 MINS effects of morning fog. It is believed that this painting is a salute to Claude Monet’s ‘Maison In 15 January 1882 du Pêcheur sur la Falaise de Varengeville’ Renoir met the composer (Fisherman’s Cottage on the Cliffs at Richard Wagner at Varengeville) of 1882. The two paintings are his home in Palermo, very similar, however the colour palette and the Sicily. Renoir painted brushstrokes make it very much Renoir’s own Wagner’s portrait in just work and style. 25 minutes. STAMP oF APPROVAL Renoir’s Guernsey paintings were the subject of a set of commemorative postage stamps issued by the Bailiwick of Guernsey in 1983.