Pierre-Auguste Renoir – A French Impressionist Painter

Pierre-Auguste Renoir - One of the Most Influential Impressionist Painters 

In celebration of Pierre-Auguste Renoir's birthday I take a brief look at the man and a few of his most well known paintings and why he is loved so much. Pierre-Auguste Renoir was born on 25 February 1841 in Limoges, the centre of porcelain production in France at the time, to a tailor.

Renoir moved to Paris as a young boy who later went on to earn money painting blinds and murals. He entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in 1862 and became associated with other painters such as Monet, Bazille and Sisley. The Beaux-Arts de Paris, or School of Fine Arts, is a French grande école whose primary mission is to provide high-level arts education and training and this is where many of Renoir's friendships with contemporary artists developed.

Renoir is loved for his style in portraying humans and their emotions which is captured by their movement and interaction with each other. 

Pierre-Auguste Renoir - The Prolific French Impressionist Painter

Renoir was a determined man who continued to paint long after he developed severe rheumatoid arthritis at an older age. His illness confined him to a wheelchair but regardless of this and his advanced illness, he strapped a paint brush to his paralysed fingers and kept on painting. He painted around an amazing 4,000 paintings during his lifetime before he died in 1919.

A comprehensive list of many of Renoir's paintings can be found at Wikipedia - List of Paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. It's worth looking at the list to see his style develop and subject choices over the years. The list is chronological with photos of paintings and full details.  

Dance at le Moulin de la Galette by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Seeing the Bal du Moulin de la Galette, or as it's otherwise known as, Dance at le Moulin de la Galette (1876 oil on canvas), at the Musée d'Orsay was a dream come true. The first time I stood in front of this most famous painting I could hardly believe I was really looking at the original. I'd seen it so many times on stationery, as prints, in art books and so I really had to stop and savour the moment and let the experience wash over me. It is incredible to stand in front of a single work of art that has captured the hearts of the world and is worth so much in monetary terms.

"Renoir's joyful depiction of an open-air dance hall in Paris, "Au Moulin de la Galette," is his highest publicly sold work of art, selling for $78.1 million. This makes it the 9^th highest painting ever sold to this date and the artist part of an exclusive group that includes Van Gogh, Picasso and Gauguin." - Masterworks Fine Art Gallery

City Dance and Country Dance by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

In their heavy gilt golden frames, these two paintings dominate their wall at Musée d'Orsay and hanging side by side you can see why Renoir designed them as a pair. Standing in front of these paintings simply took my breath away - they are almost life size and I'd never appreciated how large they were. They are of identical format and represent two different, even opposite aspects of dancing. The elegant restraint of the city dancers (to the left) and the cool ballroom around them contrasts with the gaiety of the country dance in the open air. 

The couple swept away by the music in The Country Dance seem to have up and left a disorderly table, a carelessness accentuated by the hat dropped in the foreground. There are many contrasts between the two paintings, even in the colours. There are cool colours used in Suzanne Valadon's dress in City Dance and warm for Aline Charigot, Renoir's future wife. Both couples however seem to be dancing in similar movements. 

To read about Suzanne Valadon's life as a model for Renoir and other Impressionist painters, and her work as a female painter, I recommend reading the book 'Renoir's Dancer - The Secret Life of Suzanne Valadon' by Catherine Hewitt. It's a fabulous book for anyone who loves art, Renoir's work or the history of painting. You can buy your copy from my Amazon store A French Collection in the 'Books in My Library' collection.

Both the Country Dance and City Dance paintings were owned for many years and exhibited by Paul Durand-Ruel, who was a staunch supporter and art dealer of the unappreciated and reviled French Impressionists. Renoir even painted Paul Durand-Ruel and members of his family. (See photo of painting above of Paul Durand-Ruel's daughter.)

Two Sisters (On the Terrace) by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Painted in 1881, Renoir titled his painting the Two Sisters. It later became titled On the Terrace by its first owner Paul Durand-Ruel, so it is now often called by the combination of these two titles. The painting is located in the Art Institute of Chicago. In this painting, Pierre-Auguste Renoir depicts a young woman wearing a female boater’s blue flannel and her younger companion (both not real sisters in life), whose hands are resting on a sewing basket containing balls of wool. 

Interestingly, the largest number of Renoir paintings is not located in France, but instead, a total of 181 paintings are located at the Barnes Foundation, near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Long before I became fascinated with France and ever dreamed of living in my own home in France, I purchased a print of the Two Sisters by Renoir and had it framed in a heavy golden gilt frame. My print came with me everywhere from the moment I left my parents home aged 18 years, and through several home purchases and subsequent house moves. It hung pride of place for years until it became too faded but I've always felt a connection with this painting. I've grown older and eventually bought a home in France, and now I study and visit Renoir's original artwork in Paris when I visit the city.

So from humble birth as a tailor's son to a founding member of the French Impressionists, and one of the world's most famous painters, Pierre-Auguste Renoir certainly deserves being celebrated and honoured on his birthday.

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