Auguste Renoir

His Life and Works

Auguste Renoir was born in Limoges, Haute-Vienne, France, February 25th 1841, the child of a working class family.

As a boy, he worked in a porcelain factory where his interest in painting led to him painting designs on china.

In 1862, Renoir studied art in Paris, where he met Alfred Sisley, Frederic Bazille and Claude Monet.

His initial paintings were influenced by the artistry of Eug�ne Delacroix and his close friend Monet who helped Auguste Renoir found the Impressionism movement.

Renoir would go on to become one of the greatest painters of his time. His paintings are among the most popular, well-known, and frequently reproduced images in the history of art.

Although Renoir had his first exhibit of paintings in 1864, he did not gain any real recognition for another ten years due to the turmoil in Paris as a result of the Franco-Prussian War.

During the Paris Commune in 1871, Pierre-Auguste Renoir was arrested as a government spy. His life was saved when he was recognized by one of the Commune leaders, whom Renoir had himself protected on another occasion. In the mid 1870s, the first exhibition was held for the new Impressionist painters, and Auguste Renoir gained his first great acclaim.

While living and working in Montmartre, he would have an affair with one of his models, Suzanne Valadon, who would become one of the leading female artists of the day.

Later, he married Aline Victorine Charigot, with whom he would have three sons, one of which, Jean Renoir, would become an important filmmaker.

After marrying, his work changed; he became very much family-oriented and was equally as interested in painting individual or family portraits as he was in landscapes.

One of the most famous Impressionist works by any painter is Renoir's 1876 Le Bal au Moulin de la Galette (Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette), an open-air scene, jammed with people, of a popular dance garden on the Butte Montmartre, not far from where he had been living.

In 1881 he traveled to Algeria, a country he associated with Eug�ne Delacroix, then to Madrid, Spain to see the work of Diego Velazquez and then to Italy to see Titian's masterpieces in Florence and the paintings of Raphael in Rome. On January 15, 1882, Renoir met composer Richard Wagner at his home in Palermo, Sicily. Renoir painted Wagner's portrait in just 35 minutes. A prolific artist, Auguste Renoir made several thousand paintings over a 60 year period. He continued to paint even during the last 20 years of his life when he was severely hampered by arthritis and wheelchair-bound.

In 1907, he moved to the warmer climate of "Les Collettes," a farm at Cagnes-sur-Mer, not far from the Mediterranean coast. There, he continued to paint by using a brush strapped to his arm. He even created sculptures, dictating to an assistant who worked the clay.

In 1919, Renoir had the extraordinary experience of visiting the Louvre to see his paintings hanging with the old masters.

Auguste Renoir died in the village of Cagnes-sur-Mer, Provence-Alpes-C�te d'Azur, on December 3, 1919.

Two of Renoir's paintings have sold for more than US$70 million.

Return to Top

Web www.paris-walking-tours.com Please note that your search results page will have ads ABOVE the actual search results. Those are not from the site, but may be of interest, since Google targets the ads to your particular search.

Home | Paris Facts | Paris Transportation | Paris Customs | Self Guided Walks | Guided Walks | Paris Hotels | Paris Monuments | Paris Museums | Paris Gardens | Paris Churches | Paris History | Contact Us | French Art | Paris Web Resources | Travel Directory | Paris Tours | Hostels | Travel Insurance | Site Build It! Library