Renoir Slide Script

Pre-slides: Focus slide; “And now, it’s time for Art Lit”

Slide 1: Words We Will Use Today Impressionism – a style of painting that uses dabs or strokes of primary unmixed colors to capture a fleeting image and simulate reflected light. Dab – A gentle touch of paint onto the paper. Reflection – The return of light from a surface, or an image that is made by a mirror, or it looks like it was made by a mirror.

Slide 2 – Pierre Auguste Renoir – Self Portrait, 1897 Here is our artist – Pierre Renoir (Ren-wah) in a self portrait. Renoir began his artistic career as a floral designer for a china painting factory. He began his formal art training at age 20. We know little of his early work because he destroyed most of what he painted between 1862 and 1866 since he was not satisfied with it.

Slide 3 – Spring Bouquet - 1866 The Impressionist technique was just around the corner when Renoir painted this early work at age 24. Here you can see that the petals are separate and distinct. However, the impressionist style would only use dabs of color to give the idea of flowers.

Slide 4 – The Frog Pond, 1868 During his art classes and evening meetings in cafes, Renoir made friends with the talented young painters of Paris. Renoir and many of his friends were struggling to establish themselves and were very poor.

One of Renoir’s closest friends was Claude Monet, who helped Renoir establish the new style of Impressionism. Renoir and Monet often painted together, sharing paints to save money. This painting is considered one of the first of the Impressionist images. The impressionists understood that colors found outdoors change depending on the time of day, and by reflections, colored shadows and contrasts of colors.

Slide 5 – Oarsmen at Chateau, 1879 Boating and water related activities were very popular French pastimes. This type of scene was perfect for the Impressionists since they could capture the sparkling effects of light on water. This was their version of a photograph in that it captured a fleeting moment in time. This was a very different way of painting and the art world was shocked by how different it was.

Renoir Artist Slide Script

Here Renoir combines carefully defined foreground figures against the “impression” of a background. This blending of images is a hallmark of the Renoir style.

Slide 6 – Doges Palace, Venice, 1881 Renoir was primarily a figure painter, but he made several pure landscape studies. While in Venice he did this wonderful painting of the Doges Palace. Rather than mixing colors then applying them to the canvas in smooth layers, the Impressionists placed dabs of pure color onto their canvases. Notice how many colors Renoir used to paint the water in this painting.

The figures in the boats have been reduced to mere dabs of paint blending in with the sparkling water. Even the landscape elements seem washed out. They make a horizontal division for the real subject of his work – sky and water.

Slide 7 – Moulin De La Galette, 1876 This large painting is Renoir’s most famous masterpiece. He worked on it for over a year. The Moulin de la Galette (Guh-let) was a dance hall in Paris where young people went on Sunday afternoons to chat and dance. Renoir and his friends would carry the large canvas, which was about 4 ft by 6 ft, back and forth every day from the studio to the dance hall.

All the people in this work were Renoir’s friends. The dappled sunlight and shade is blurred into the figures. This gives the effect of floating and fleeting light so desired by the Impressionists.

Guess what? There is not a trace of black in this painting! The natural light has rendered the shadows and even the coats and hats of differing shades of blue.

Slide 8 – Luncheon of the Boating Party, 1879 In Renoir’s large compositions, he made one side of the canvas rich in things big and near; and the other side shows a view into the distance. There is a great feeling of movement in this painting– hands are waving, and the awning is fluttering.

For 20 years the Impressionists were denied access to the official French Salons to exhibit their work. They had to form their own society and open their own art shows for the public to see their work.

Slide 9 –Terrace at Cagnes, 1905. Renoir continued painting up to the end of his life. He had to tie a brush to his hand when he could no longer grip it due to arthritis. Only a few years before he died, he said, "I am just learning how to paint." Which shows how dedicated he was to his art and how he didn’t let challenges stop him.

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Renoir Artist Slide Script