Pierre Auguste Renoir

"Renoir: The Man and His Images" exhibit poster (reproduction) for Paris Museum

Pierre-Auguste Renoir had his first experience with art in 1845 at the age of 4 when his family moved to Paris from Limoges and settled near the Louvre. By the age of 13, he had begun to seriously study and practice his work. Renoir started as an apprentice painter in a porcelain factory, where he spent five years. He then took drawing lessons from Charles Gleyre and in 1862, when he was 21; Renoir attended the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. It was at the National School of Fine Arts in Paris where Renoir met the future founders of Impressionism, Claude Monet, Alfred Sisley, and Frederic Bazille. Renoir paintings remained in the traditional style during the 1860s. His portrait of his mistress, Lise Trehot, was traditional enough to be accepted for the 1867 Salon. Pierre Auguste Renoir’s paintings began to change shortly after he moved in with Claude Monet and Frederic Bazille in 1869. Renoir updated his technique and color scheme. Renoir painted mostly outdoors and began to use vibrant, pure colors and little brush strokes. Renoir, along with Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, and Alfred Sisley was part of the first exhibition of the Society of Independent Artists in 1874. It was at this exhibit that the term “Impressionism” was first used. The term was coined by a French art critic who took the name from a Monet painting. The term was meant to be derogatory and the show was a financial failure. Despite the failure, the artists continue to exhibit together and were joined by Edgar Degas and Georges Seurat. By the early 1880s, the public had begun to recognize the importance of the Impressionists’ work. In the early 1880s, Renoir traveled and painted extensively. He held his first one-man exhibition in 1883 in Paris. He received commissions from prominent Parisians and painted numerous group portraits of his friends, writers, and fellow artists. By 1887, Renoir was famous and donated several paintings to Queen Victoria for her Golden Jubilee. By the time he was 50, Renoir’s health began to decline. He suffered from cataracts, rheumatoid arthritis, and ankyloses, and spent the last twenty years of his life confined to a wheelchair. During this time he continued to paint and even took up sculpting.