ABOUT THE ARTIST, PIERRE-AUGUSTE RENOIR
Pierre-Auguste Renoir was born on February 25th 1841 at Limoges, France, died on December 3rd 1919, Cagnes. He was a French painter originally associated with the Impressionist movement. His early works were typically Impressionist snapshots of real life, full of sparkling color and light. By the mid-1880s, however, he had broken with the movement to apply a more disciplined, formal technique to portraits and figure paintings, particularly of women. In 1854, he began work as a painter in a porcelain factory in Paris. In 1862 he entered the studio of Gleyre. He painted in the Barbizon district and became a leading member of the group of Impressionists who met at the Cafe Guerbois. His relationship with Monet was particularly close at this time, and their paintings of the beauty spot called L Grenouillere done in 1869 are regarded as the classic early statements of the Impressionist style. Renoir endured much hardship early in his career, be he began to achieve success as a portraitist in the late 1870s. Renoir's visit to Italy in 1881-82 inspired him to seek a greater sense of solidarity in his work. In the mid 1880s, he developed a softer and more subtle kind of handling. At the same time, he turned from contemporary themes to more timeless subjects, particularly nudes, but also pictures of young girls in unspecific settings. As his style became grander and simpler he also took up mythological subjects, and the female type he preferred became more mature and ample. In the 1890s Renoir began to suffer from rheumatism. From 1903 he lived in the warmth of the south of France. The rheumatism eventually crippled him, but he continued to paint until the end of his life, and in his last years he also took up sculpture, directing assistants. 62421-1119.00