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1841-1919 Auguste Renoir was the son of a tailor from Limoges. His father decided to move to Paris in 1845, where the young Renoir was sent to work at the age of 13 as an apprentice to a painter in a china-ware factory, where he learned to imitate the great Rococo painters of the 18th century. Attracted to the Louvre where he studied the paintings of the old masters, he earned some money by copying 18th century paintings. He attended evening classes, and at the age of 21 he became a member of the studio of M.G.C. Gleyre, where he made friends with many of his contemporaries, including Claude Monet, Alfred Sisley and Jean Bazille.Renoir was influenced, during his first years, by the Barbizon School, as well as Gustave Courbet. However in common with his contemporaries, Renoir was disenchanted with the formal tuition of the studios, and the forest of Fontainbleau, was a working ground for him. His early paintings were not appreciated neither by the critics nor the public. However this was common for all the impressionist artists, and it was not before a decade after the start of their movement, that their revolutionary approach had become accepted.Renoir.s artistic progress was interrupted during the Franco-Prussian War, but soon after the fighting stopped, he took up painting again, and for the next ten years he was very much associated with the Impressionists, where rich colour, delicate brush stokes, and light palette created a highly individual style.Renoir was much more concerned with human form rather than nature and landscape, which was Monet.s favourite subject. He loved to show the bustling life of Paris. During a visit to Italy in 1881, Renoir studied Raphael.s work and for some years after that his work was characterized by more detailed and structural quality. However by 1880 he moved back to colour and more sensuous handling of paint. Also the nude female figure became his more common subject. |
