Bather Arranging Her Hair
Image courtesy of
The National Gallery of Art, U.S.A
Nationality:
French
Movement:
Impressionism
Education:
The Academy of Charles Gabriel Gallery
Life/Lifestyle:
Son of a French tailor, Pierre Auguste Renoir was born on February 25, 1841 in Limoges, France and became famous for his paintings of the female body. His started off as a commercial artist, copying Velázquez paintings onto porcelain. Renoir's earlier original artwork was highly influenced by Eugene Delacroix and Claude Monet, whom he often worked with. He became close friends with Monet and often painted with him in the open air. However, financial insecurity forced him to continue with the popular realist style. Paintings that he sent to the Salon, the most coveted art exhibit in Paris, were all traditional. Renoir gained recognition as an impressionist in 1874, at the first impressionist exhibition, however the show failed to sell. His reputation was not fully established until 1883 when a solo exhibition was held at the Durand-Ruel Gallery in Paris. By then, he was commissioning portraits for a handsome salary. With this new found fame, he declined to exhibit with the impressionists in 1884, and the Impressionist group dispersed as the other artists went on to pursue individual exhibits.
He married Aline Chargot 1891, and his wife became a subject of many of his paintings. His later work showed a lesser sense of impressionism for it seemed that he was growing out of it. For the last 20 years of his life, he was unable to paint freely because his fingers were crippled by arthritis. He still manages to produce a number of paints by strapping a brush to his arm but most of the art that he did produce were actually sculptures. He died in Cagnes-sur-Mer, a small village in southern France on December 3, 1919.
Style/Significance:
Renoir is known for his ability to define skin tones and is well known for his portrayal of females and feminine grace. Much of his artwork revolves around a carefree world, his artwork is without sadness. The style of his artwork went through a number of changes. He first began with an experimental style, his paintings contained a purely Impressionist ideal, and the images eventually became more solid. His later work contained a lot of soft brushwork, associated mainly with his paints of female nudes. His colors grew more intense, while the technique became less impressionistic.
Famous Pieces:
La Loge
Woman with Fan
The Luncheon of the Boating Party
Bathers
