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P. A. Renoir
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Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Portrait photo of P. A. Renoir
Painter's Details
Full Name: Pierre Auguste Renoir.
Nationality: French.
Year of Birth: 1841, Limoges, France.
Year of Death: 1919, Cagnes-sur-Mer, France.
Style: Impressionism.

Pierre Auguste Renoir was born in 1841 in France. Along with other Impressionist artists, Pierre found in painting a different way of interpreting the events occurring during those years. So much so that through lighting and colors, he develops a parallel reality, full of charm and liveliness, which he himself lacks due to personal difficulties.

A pictorial element present throughout his career is the characteristic blurring he applies to nudes and female figures, which defined his style.

In the mid-1880, P. A. Renoir began suffering from arthritis in his hands, which gave his work another sense; the pain made him settle down, and the paintings began to be imbued with an unprecedented realism. Renoir finally understood that unaltered reality is also beautiful, that imperfections contrast with perfections, and it is in this difference that beauty lies.

In the painter arose the desire to live his reality. Advanced in years, he continued painting even having to tie the brush to his wrist due to the pain of the disease. This love can be felt in the delicacy of the figures and the joy manifested in all his works.


Renoir's Paintings

In his works, the purest Impressionist style is appreciated, one that was cultivated by only a small group of founders of the style. Landscapes, portraits, and genre scenes make up the majority of Renoir's catalog.



  • "Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette"
    Author: Pierre-Auguste Renoir
    Style: Impressionism
    Original Title: Bal du moulin de la Galette
    Type: Painting
    Technique: Oil
    Medium: Canvas
    Year: 1876
    Located at: Orsay museum

    The place is an old mill located on top of a Parisian hill; the painting depicts a social, everyday scene of a Sunday in Paris, where the working class would dress up and go out to dance, drink, and eat at Le Moulin.

    Couples are seen dancing on the dance floor, while families converse seated at tables, with glass cups and drinks. The surrounding trees make the scene feel natural, conveying a mood of liberation and carefreeness.


  • "La Grenouillère"
    Author: Pierre-Auguste Renoir
    Style: Impressionism
    Type: Painting
    Technique: Oil
    Medium: Canvas
    Year: 1879
    Located at: Nationalmuseum Stockholm, Sweden

    It describes a landscape flooded by water, a popular bathing resort near Paris, frequented by Claude Monet and Renoir, where they spent time comparing their compositions, and practicing the depiction of light on water, competing to see who could capture it more eloquently.

    Renoir's version is made with shorter and faster brushstrokes, using colors directly from the tube. For his contemporaries, this painting was unfinished; however, today it is considered a classic example of Impressionism.

    The beauty of this composition is undoubtedly unique; the clarity of the colors denotes extreme dedication and effort.


  • "Luncheon of the Boating Party"
    Author: Pierre-Auguste Renoir
    Style: Impressionism
    Genre: Genre Painting
    Original Title: Le Déjeuner des canotiers
    English Title: Luncheon of the Boating Party
    Type: Painting
    Technique: Oil
    Medium: Canvas
    Year: 1880-81
    Located at: Phillips Collection, Washington, USA

    The work illustrates a group of the painter's friends relaxing at the Maison Fournaise restaurant on the banks of the Seine.


  • "Chestnut Tree in Bloom"
    Author: Pierre-Auguste Renoir
    Style: Impressionism
    Genre: Landscape
    Original Title: Le marronnier en fleurs
    Type: Painting
    Technique: Oil
    Medium: Fabric
    Year: 1881
    Located at: Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin

    Peasants and flowering chestnut trees in the French spring countryside.


  • "Two Young Girls at the Piano"
    Author: Pierre-Auguste Renoir
    Style: Impressionism
    English Title: Two Young Girls at the Piano
    Type: Painting
    Technique: Oil
    Medium: Canvas
    Year: 1892
    Located at: MET Museum, New York

    Renoir was one of those painters who enjoyed recognition and fame in his lifetime, so much so that in early 1892, he was invited by the French government to participate with one of his works in the new gallery of contemporary artists to be inaugurated in Paris: the Luxembourg Museum.

    Aware that all eyes were on him and the work he was about to execute, the artist chose the theme of the 2 girls sitting at the piano, a theme well known to him, as he had painted an almost identical picture not long ago. Unlike this one, which shows the girls somewhat serious, that painting is currently in the Musée d'Orsay, whereas this one is in the MET in New York.


  • "Woman with a Parasol in a Garden"
    Author: Pierre-Auguste Renoir
    Style: Impressionism
    Original Title: Femme à l'ombrelle dans un jardin
    English Title: Woman with a Parasol in a Garden
    Type: Painting
    Technique: Oil
    Medium: Canvas
    Year: 1873-1875
    Located at: Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid

    To create this work, the artist was inspired by the views from his new studio in Montmartre. As soon as he entered the house, he was enchanted by this garden, which he found to be a beautiful, abandoned park.


  • "Two Sisters (on the terrace)"
    Author: Pierre-Auguste Renoir
    Style: Impressionism
    Original Title: Les Deux Sœurs (Sur la terrasse)
    English Title: Two Sisters (On the Terrace)
    Type: Painting
    Technique: Oil
    Medium: Fabric
    Year: 1881
    Located at: Art Institute of Chicago, USA

    This painting is one of the artist's most beautiful works, according to experts. It's a clear demonstration of the artist's virtuosity, achieving perfect execution with vibrant colors applied with different brushes.


  • "Flowers in a Vase 1866"
    Author: Pierre-Auguste Renoir
    Style: Impressionism
    Original Title: Fleurs dans un vase
    Type: Painting
    Technique: Oil
    Medium: Canvas
    Year: 1866
    Located at: National Gallery of Art, Washington

    Shows a variety of flowers in the traditional French manner.


  • "By the Seashore"
    Author: Pierre-Auguste Renoir
    Style: Impressionism
    Genre: Portrait, Genre Painting
    English Title: By the Seashore
    Type: Painting
    Technique: Oil
    Medium: Canvas
    Year: 1883
    Located at: MET Museum, New York

    This is a studio work, for which he used the model Aline Charigot, who would soon become his fiancée and later wife.

    The beach seen in the background was artificially added and is not considered to be any specific one, however, some critics place it somewhere along the Normandy coast.

    This portrait represents for the artist, a new way of painting, which he himself calls "dry". It is characterized by giving extreme importance to the drawing of the main figure, which is carefully outlined and then filled in with a realistic appearance (contrary to the general practice of the Impressionists).


  • "Noirmoutier"
    Author: Pierre-Auguste Renoir
    Style: Impressionism
    Genre: Landscape
    Type: Painting
    Technique: Oil
    Medium: Canvas
    Year: 1892
    Located at: Barnes Foundation, USA

    Painted on the Atlantic island of the same name. It depicts a landscape of lush vegetation.


  • "Still Life with Bouquet"
    Author: Pierre-Auguste Renoir
    Style: Impressionism
    Genre: Still Life
    Original Title: Nature morte au bouquet
    English Title: Still Life with Bouquet
    Type: Painting
    Technique: Oil
    Medium: Canvas
    Year: 1871
    Located at: Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA

    This is one of the finest works of its kind by the painter. It features two plant arrangements, a background family photo, and a fan; breaking the purely European style of the image.


  • "Landscape at Beaulieu 1899"
    Author: Pierre-Auguste Renoir
    Style: Impressionism
    Original Title: Paysage à Beaulieu
    Type: Painting
    Technique: Oil
    Medium: Canvas
    Year: 1899
    Located at: The Hermitage, Saint Petersburg, Russia

    The work showcases an Impressionist landscape with pastel green colors, ideal for decorating an elegant room.


  • "Irène Cahen d'Anvers (Little Irene)"
    Author: Pierre-Auguste Renoir
    Style: Impressionism
    Original Title: Portrait de Mademoiselle Irène Cahen
    Type: Painting
    Technique: Oil
    Medium: Canvas
    Year: 1880
    Located at: E.G. Bührle Foundation, Switzerland

    This portrait, along with two others, were commissioned by the girls' father, a well-known Jewish banker. Renoir had already worked on portraits for Jewish families in Paris, however, Irene's father did not adequately appreciate the work and paid very little for it.

    The painting itself demonstrates exquisiteness, delicacy in composition, and enhances the innocence and femininity of the girl. The green background of the bush makes the main figure stand out with her white dress and reddish hair. The well-achieved tones of the white dress combine with the bluish color of the eyes and the hair ribbon.


  • "Rocky Crags at L'Estaque"
    Author: Pierre-Auguste Renoir
    Style: Impressionism
    Original Title: Rochers à l'Estaque
    Type: Painting
    Technique: Oil
    Support: Canvas
    Year: 1882
    Located in: Boston Museum of Fine Arts

    It is one of the most renowned landscapes by the artist. It was painted in the rural surroundings of Paris, while the artist was visiting his friend Paul Cézanne, who painted several works inspired by the same landscape.


  • "The Skiff"
    Author: Pierre-Auguste Renoir
    Style: Impressionism
    Original Title: La Yole
    English Title: The Skiff
    Type: Painting
    Technique: Oil
    Support: Canvas
    Year: 1875
    Located in: The National Gallery, London

    The work depicts a long boat manned by two girls navigating the River Seine.


  • "Bouquet in a Vase"
    Author: Pierre-Auguste Renoir
    Style: Impressionism
    Original Title: Bouquet dans un vase
    English Title: Bouquet in a Vase
    Type: Painting
    Technique: Oil
    Support: Canvas
    Year: 1878
    Located at: Indianapolis Museum of Art, USA

    The painting of floral arrangements was for the artist an excellent means to develop his particular Impressionist style. With them, he combined vivid colors with textures that blur them.

    In this painting, one can appreciate brushstrokes rich in paint, on the flowers, the porcelain vase, and also on the background wall. The bright tones of the vase and the soft ones of the flowers stand out even more against the "acid" green background.


  • "Fog on Guernsey (Brouillard à Guernsey)"
    Author: Pierre-Auguste Renoir
    Style: Impressionism
    Genre: Landscape
    Original Title: Brouillard à Guernsey
    English Title: Fog on Guernsey
    Type: Painting
    Technique: Oil
    Support: Canvas
    Year: 1883
    Located at: Cincinnati Art Museum, USA

    The painting is clearly distinguished by the artist's usual blurred brushstroke, the chromatic composition is of red, green, brown, white, and blue (sea). The elements depicted include: a cliff at the edge of the island, bushes, grass, rocks (in the background), a house, and the sea.


  • "Girl Reading"
    Author: Pierre-Auguste Renoir
    Style: Impressionism
    Original Title: La lecture
    English Title: Girl Reading
    Type: Painting
    Technique: Oil
    Support: Canvas
    Year: 1890
    Located at: Houston Museum of Fine Arts

    The canvas shows heavy colors, with a yellow tendency, constructing the face and body of a girl in the warmth of the home. The oil spots applied make up the girl surrounded by elements: chair, book, curtains, and background wall.


  • "The Piazza San Marco"
    Author: Pierre-Auguste Renoir
    Style: Impressionism
    Original Title: La Place Saint-Marc, Venise
    English Title: The Piazza San Marco, Venice
    Type: Painting
    Technique: Oil
    Support: Canvas
    Year: 1881
    Located at: Minneapolis Institute of Art

    This is a colorful Impressionist composition with elements of Expressionism, where the figure of the Saint Mark's Cathedral in Venice appears perfectly sharp, behind a cluster of spots depicting the street, people, and surrounding buildings.


  • "Road at Wargemont"
    Author: Pierre-Auguste Renoir
    Style: Impressionism
    Genre: Landscape
    Original title: Paysage à Wargemont
    Title in English: Road at Wargemont
    Type: Painting
    Technique: Oil
    Medium: Canvas
    Year: 1879
    Location: Toledo Museum of Art, USA

    It features a blend of luminous colors that merge into each other with blurred outlines. This painting is one of Renoir's most notable landscapes. The piece has the particularity that it was not exhibited in Paris, nor was it offered for sale either; it was sold for the first time in Copenhagen in 1914, after the artist's death.

    The dreamlike view of rocky hills, the winding path, the lines of the trees, and the blotches that make up the bushes were considered by experts to have been made with a technique far ahead of its time. Renoir applied thin translucent layers of paint without waiting for the previous layer to dry; creating a blurred, fluid, and luminous image.

Renoir's paintings have remained a beacon of art that shows new artists the way to pass their brushes for a perfect composition and an illuminated impressionist color. Renoir's legacy is undoubtedly the desire to speak through painting.

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