Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Impressionism

He was a close friend of Claude Monet.

💡 Did you know? Renoir painted Impressionism at its most joyful: festivals, dances and blooming gardens full of sunlight.

porcelain painter

He came from poor circumstances in Limoges.

💡 Did you know? As a young porcelain painter Renoir practised painting delicate flowers: the lightness stayed visible all his life.

people and the joy of life

Unlike many Impressionists, Renoir most loved to paint people: laughing faces, children, convivial gatherings.

💡 Did you know? „Why shouldn't art be pretty? There are enough unpleasant things,“ said Renoir.

Bal du moulin de la Galette

Light falls through the leaves onto the revellers.

💡 Did you know? For the „Ball at the Moulin de la Galette“ Renoir hauled the large canvas daily to the dance hall on Montmartre.

rheumatism

Severe rheumatism twisted Renoir's hands in old age: at the end he painted on with the brush strapped to his fingers.

💡 Did you know? In the end the brush was wedged between his twisted fingers.

1919

Renoir painted tirelessly until his death in 1919, despite paralysis and pain.

💡 Did you know? On the last day of his life Renoir still painted flowers and reportedly said: „I think I'm beginning to understand something about it.“

Bal du moulin de la Galette

Around 1876: a sun-drenched Parisian dance.

💡 Did you know? Dappled sunlight dances over the merry crowd: one of the central pictures of all Impressionism.

Luncheon of the Boating Party

Around 1880/81: a cheerful gathering by the riverside.

💡 Did you know? Renoir gathered friends and his future wife Aline for a sunny lunch by the Seine.

La Balançoire

Painted around 1876.

💡 Did you know? The dappled light through the leaves outraged critics as „dirty spots“ on the clothes.

The Great Bathers

Painted around 1884.

💡 Did you know? In his late period Renoir turned to classical, full-bodied, sensual nudes.

Girls at the Piano

Painted around 1892.

💡 Did you know? The French state bought the picture: Renoir's breakthrough to official recognition.

La loge

Painted around 1874.

💡 Did you know? Renoir showed the elegant couple in the theatre box at the first Impressionist exhibition in 1874.

Two Sisters (On the Terrace)

Painted around 1881.

💡 Did you know? The glowing red of the hat and the fresh colours make it one of Renoir's best-loved pictures.

The Umbrellas

Painted around 1881.

💡 Did you know? A throng of open umbrellas: Renoir painted it over years, so the change of style is visible within the picture itself.

Dance in the Country

Painted around 1883.

💡 Did you know? Part of a pair of dancing-couple pictures: here Renoir's future wife Aline dances merrily in the country.

In the Summer

Painted around 1868.

💡 Did you know? An early, sensitive portrait of a woman from Renoir's beginnings.

Lise with a Parasol

Painted around 1867.

💡 Did you know? Renoir's model and lover Lise in a light dress: an early masterpiece of open-air painting.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841 to 1919) was a French Impressionist painter, famous for his sunny, life-affirming pictures of people and festivities.

💡 Did you know? Crippled by rheumatism, Renoir painted on with the brush strapped to his hand: he never gave up painting until his last day.