Pierre Auguste Renoir - biography, information, personal life. The best paintings of Pierre Auguste Renoir Renoir paintings

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Great French impressionist artist Auguste Renoir said: “I didn’t know how to walk yet, but I already loved women.” Women were for him the embodiment of harmony and beauty, a source of inspiration and the main theme of creativity. He had many lovers, but only Lisa Treo, Margarita Legrand and Alina Sharigo became his muses for many years.

Renoir also painted quite famous representatives of Parisian bohemia.

On a walk. 1870 Oil, canvas. 81×65 cm. Getty Museum (Los Angeles, USA)

Renoir believed that one should only paint outdoors and under no circumstances take an unfinished work to the studio for finishing. Only in this case will the “live” work be visible: the outlines of the figures are slightly blurred, as if disappearing in the fog; the radiance of light gives the composition dynamics, nature is represented. Renoir is looking for his own style, trying himself in almost all genres. He creates decorative paintings, paints still lifes, landscapes, portraits, and nude women.

Renoir created many portraits. One of the best female images is considered to be the portrait of the famous actress “Comédie Française” Jeanne Samary, painted in bright, vibrant colors. The artist shaded the skin of the young beauty with a greenish tone. When the audience saw the work, they were horrified: green skin is unthinkable! They couldn't see anything else.
No less important, although quite rare in Renoir’s work psychological portraits(Victor Choquet, Alfred Sisley, Claude Monet).
The beginning of the 1880s was marked for the artist by a crisis and subsequent abandonment of impressionism.
The frescoes of Raphael and the paintings of Pompeii forced him to look critically at his painting. By the mid-1880s, the “academic period” began in the master’s work (it is also called the “Ingres period”).
In the early 1890s, the “pearl period” began in the painter’s work. One of the characteristic works of this time is “Girls at the Piano” (1892).
In the 1900s, reddish-pink shades began to predominate in the master’s works, so this stage of his work was called the “red period.” By this time, Renoir had already become a recognized painter and created the largest number of paintings of various genres. He was in a hurry to create: every day arthritis hampered his movements more and more. When, due to illness, he could no longer hold a brush, he turned to sculpture with the help of an apprentice.
However, his passion is still last breath there was painting in which he tirelessly sang the joy of life, happiness and love.

Portrait of William Sisley. 1864 Oil, canvas. 81.5×65.5 cm. Orsay Museum (Paris, France)

Having moved to Paris, Auguste’s parents often took him to the Louvre. There he discovered new artists, movements and schools.
One day, one of Levi's workers, Emile Laporte, who was fond of oil painting, watching young Renoir paint porcelain, suggested that he try his hand at working with paints and canvas.
Paris had a huge influence on his artistic perception. The future painter felt himself an integral part of it, admired the beauty of the narrow, almost medieval streets in the old districts of the city, and its heterogeneous Gothic architecture.

Renoir devoted four years to painting porcelain. In 1858, after the invention of a machine that applied designs to porcelain and earthenware products, many decorative painters lost their jobs and were forced to look for similar occupations.
One day at the market, Renoir unwittingly witnessed a dispute between the owner of a cafe and a contractor over the cost of painting the establishment. Without thinking twice, he offered his services to the owner on the condition that the work could be paid for after the order was completed. However, Renoir did a brilliant job with this work. People specially came to admire his Venus, and at the same time drank several glasses of beer. Subsequently, he decorated about 20 Parisian cafes, but, alas, not a single painting has survived. Having collected some money, Auguste went to study at a real painting school.

“Irreconcilables” is what Renoir, Basil, Sisley, Monet and Pissarro called their small community. All of them no longer wanted to study the masters of the past and imitate them. They proclaimed nature itself to be their mentor. Despite the fact that the masters of the old school (Coro, Manet, Courbet and other representatives of the Fontainebleau school) had already turned their attention to the plein air, they nevertheless continued to paint in the classical manner (clear lines, clear plots, purity of colors). The “irreconcilables” wanted to reproduce on canvas their perception of what they saw, without a “literary explanation of the plot.”
This is how he first expressed his vision of art: unsolemn, less respectful, but more sensual, deeply personal and living. Here, in the workshop, Renoir met Henri Fantin-Latour2, who constantly visited the Louvre, considering him the best school painting.
In 1862, Renoir met future friends and like-minded people in painting at Gleyre's: Frédéric Bazille, Alfred Sisley, and then Claude Monet. This is how it began to emerge a new group. She was later joined by other students, as well as Camille Pissarro, whom Basil brought (they met in Manet’s studio, where Basil was lucky enough to visit).

Clearing in the forest. 1865 Oil, canvas. 89.5×116 cm. Detroit Institute of Arts (USA)

After each lesson with Gleyre, the friends went to the Closerie de Lisle cafe, where they heatedly argued about art, discussed their ideas and rejected the classical canons, condemned their stereotypes and even threatened to burn down the Louvre.
Unlike Monet and Pissarro, who completely renounced the classical canons, Renoir was not so categorical in his decisions. It was as if he was between two fires: on the one hand, he was uncontrollably attracted by the new “natural” painting, on the other, he could not refuse the art of Francois Boucher, Jean Fragonard and Jean Ingres.
And yet, freedom of creativity, the desire to enjoy all possible feelings that nature has endowed man with, as well as the prospect of renewal French painting persuaded Renoir to remain with the “irreconcilables.”
The “irreconcilables” were full of ideas, they loved life, sought to know it as best as possible, tried to master all the sensations that are available to man thanks to the senses. They were destined to become the founders of a new French art. But the most interesting thing is that all the meetings of the “irreconcilables,” at which new ideas rained down, new visions of painting were revealed and the cult of nature was proclaimed, did not at all prevent Renoir, Sisley, Monet and Basil from attending the lessons of old man Gleyre and continuing to study classical drawing.
However, Renoir soon had to take up again decorative painting: the money previously earned for studying is almost gone. The family was not happy that Auguste was painting, but Edmond did not leave his older brother. At the age of 18, he already collaborated with newspapers and wrote the first articles about new art and the group of “irreconcilables.”
In 1863, Paris was in turmoil: the Salon rejected most of the works presented. Outraged artists suggested that Louis Martinet (one of the organizers of all previous shows) collect and exhibit the rejected paintings. Of course, Martinet would never have decided to take such a step, but the intervention of Napoleon III nevertheless prompted him to hold an exhibition. It was called “The Salon of the Rejected” and was accompanied by a scandal associated with the name of Edouard Manet. The official Salon did not accept his work, and for the “Salon of the Rejected” the artist provided his painting “Lunch on the Grass” (1863). The public criticized and ridiculed this work, which later, however, brought Manet scandalous, but still fame.
From that moment on, it became obvious that people were coming into the artistic world who were destined to change it. A group of artists from Gleyre’s workshop (Renoir, Basil, Sisley, Monet, Pissarro) drew attention to Manet’s work. Over time, Paul Cezanne, who studied at the Suisse Academy, also joined it.
As a result of the reform of the Salon, carried out on the initiative of Napoleon III, it was decided that three-quarters of the jury could be elected by the artists themselves. However, this changed little: its members continued to include adherents of the academic movement in painting. However, Renoir’s painting “Esmeralda Dancing Among the Tramps” was still accepted in 1864. The plot was romantic, but the dark colors were quite consistent with the spirit of academicism. After the exhibition, the master destroyed the canvas. This symbolized his rejection of classical canons and “dark” art.
In 1864, Gleyre closed his workshop.
In Renoir's life began new stage, which can be called plein air. Auguste worked a lot in the open air, having listened to Monet, who insisted that it was necessary to paint landscapes only in nature and in no case transfer unfinished work to the workshop, as their contemporaries, in particular the Barbizons, did. Monet argued that indoors it is impossible to recreate the effect and vibrancy of colors as in the open air.

By this time, Renoir's savings, which he earned by painting cafes, had practically dried up. However, hardships and difficulties did not in any way affect the artist’s character. He did not consider himself a victim of art, realizing that he had chosen his own path. Renoir never complained to anyone about his plight. Portraits allowed me to earn some money, although sometimes I even had to paint them for a pair of shoes!

In 1865, young artists had only one thing on their mind - participation in the Salon. Renoir prepared a portrait of William Sisley (Alfred's father) and "A Summer Evening". However, there was still time until May 1, when the opening was supposed to take place, so Auguste and his friends went to Fontainebleau, where they dispersed to different villages. It was there that Renoir learned that the Salon had accepted his paintings, as well as Monet’s “The Mouth of the Seine at Honfleur” and “The Spit at La Hève at Low Tide.”
Returning to Paris, Auguste, who was still experiencing financial difficulties, settled with Sisley. At this time, he became close to the artist Jules Le Coeur and, thanks to this friendship, managed to penetrate the society of rich people who loved art, as well as find permanent patrons. In addition, in Le Coeur's house, Renoir met his first lover, 16-year-old Lisa Treo, who became one of his favorite models.
The year 1866 was marked by a scandal associated with the next Salon. The jury rejected one painting after another, including works by Manet and Renoir. But Monet and Gustave Courbet, on the contrary, shone.
Courbet, whom Auguste had met earlier and who impressed him with his talent and loudness, seemed to be becoming the head of a new movement in painting.
While large-scale denunciations of the jury's unprofessionalism were unfolding in the newspapers, Renoir felt that he was more impressed by Courbet with his broad and slightly simple manner of conveying nature. And he decided to try Gustave's technique - rubbing paint on the canvas with a knife - while working on still lifes. The influence of Courbet is especially clearly visible in the painting “Diana the Huntress” (1867), where Renoir depicted Lisa naked, having worked her body with a palette knife.
Meanwhile, the painter’s financial situation did not improve in any way: like Monet, he was forced to constantly look for part-time work. In addition, Sisley got married, so Renoir had to move in with Basil.

In 1867, friends are again preparing for the Salon, which, alas, again brings only disappointment. Renoir presented Diana the Huntress and it was rejected. Pondering the reasons for his failure, he realized that working with a palette knife was not his calling.
This alienated Renoir from Courbet and his “heavy” painting. At this moment he became interested in the style of Manet, who did not pay due attention to modeling, but worked carefully on color.
Over time, Auguste became a member of a group of “rebellious”, or Batignolles, who often gathered at the Guerbois cafe in the Batignolles quarter, where they discussed painting for a long time. The head of the group was Edouard Manet. And if the Salon jury, which year after year rejected his works, had been a little more restrained, it is unlikely that artists would have gathered around Manet, so different in their worldview and views on painting.
In the summer of 1867, Renoir painted "Lise", where the influence of both Courbet and Manet is slightly felt, but the individual style of the master is still visible. The painting was accepted into the 1868 Salon thanks to Daubigny, who was a member of the jury and managed to secure places for many artists whose presence at the exhibition was previously simply unthinkable.
One of the most striking works of this period (after “Lisa”) is considered to be a portrait of Alfred Sisley and his wife, painted in the open air.
And yet Renoir remained in need. It was not easy to find customers, so he went with Lisa to his parents in Ville d'Avray.
The year 1869 was quite difficult for Renoir: constant need, refusal of the Salon. He spends most of his time in Bougival, in Ville d'Avray. Not far away, in Saint-Michel, Claude Monet lived at that time, who often did not even have money for bread, not to mention paints and canvases. Renoir helped his friend as best he could, bringing bread from home.

Common difficulties brought the friends very close together, and this could not but affect their work. When money appeared, they bought paints, put their easels next to each other and painted the same motifs, talked in common topics, forming general views on painting.
They never returned to the forests of Fontainebleau, becoming interested in the water, its magical tints, reflections, and colors at different times of the day. Now they were occupied only by the Seine from Bougival to Argenteuil with its baths and numerous holidaymakers on weekends.
Separately worth mentioning amazing place- "paddling pool". It was a small cozy cafe located on a pontoon and connected to the banks of the Seine by a small bridge. This island of happiness and carefree got its name because of the pretty ladies of easy virtue, who were called frogs. They came here with boyfriends or alone in search of new gentlemen, whose attention they attracted with catchy and bright outfits.
Various competitions were held in the “paddling pool”; here you could relax on the fragrant grass on the shore and enjoy the views of the quiet bay. In the evening, the pontoon turned into a center of fun: red lights came on, shedding rich light on the waters of the Seine, and the musicians began to play lively quadrilles and gallops.
It was here that Monet and Renoir developed the principles of a new art - impressionism. If you look closely at the works of this time, it is not immediately clear who the author of this or that painting is: Monet or Renoir. Their canvases embodied the basic principles of the new direction: the study of reflections on water, chiaroscuro, flickering light, clear separation of strokes, the use of light shades of paint (only three primary and three additional colors), and the transfer of the primary impression of what was seen.
For the 1870 Salon, Renoir painted “Bather with a Griffin” and “Odalisque.” The jury accepted both films. During this period, the artist began to experience the influence of the greatest colorist - Eugene Delacroix.
Starting from his studies with Gleyre, Renoir tried his hand at a variety of directions for many years. From each he took away something necessary for the development and improvement of his skills. Plein air helped him master working with light and color, although not completely. Delacroix was "called" to help perfect these lighting skills.
That same year, France entered the war with Prussia. In the fall, Renoir was drafted and sent to Libourne, where he was supposed to spend the entire winter. The war separated the artist from his friends: Pissarro and Monet went to England, Basil died in battle.
In 1817, Renoir fell ill with dysentery. He was saved from death by his uncle, who transported him from Libourne to Bordeaux. At that time, Auguste dreamed of only one thing: to quickly return to his beloved Paris. We managed to implement our plans already in March, after demobilization.

Creative quest

Alas, at this time unrest began in the capital, which resulted in popular uprising, which went down in history under the name of the Paris Commune. Renoir tried to adapt to his new life, looked for orders, but worked little. Apparently, this is why, after the long and terrible months of the war, his creativity manifested itself with renewed vigor.
Unlike Delacroix, Renoir chose to depict women against the backdrop of a luxurious interior, rather than pay tribute to the East. Despite the fact that the public considered “Women of Paris” to be a copy of the works of the great colorist, this picture for the first time revealed Renoir’s sensuality, which he had previously expressed somewhat ineptly.
In 1872, many Batignolles met Paul Durand-Ruel, a wealthy painting dealer. However, Renoir was not very upset, he even painted his portrait ex-lover and gave it to her as a parting gift.
In the summer of 1872, the artist went to Monet in Argenteuil. Here the friends set to work with renewed vigor, boldly following the basic principles of impressionism: they reproduced the shape of objects not as everyone perceives it, but conveyed their vision, covering the canvas with small colorful strokes.
It is almost impossible to distinguish their works by technique; the difference lies only in the subjects. Monet was mainly interested in landscapes, Renoir loved to depict people, especially women. In 1873, he painted the painting “Rose,” in which, with incredible love and awe, he conveyed the outlines of the sitter’s body, arms and oval face, and the sparkle of her eyes. He was simply in love with his painting!
In 1873, for the next Salon, Renoir painted “Horsemen in the Bois de Boulogne.” Seeing the picture, Captain Darr, whose wife posed for the rider, was horrified when he noticed blue strokes on the skin of the animals:
“Blue horses? There are no blue horses in the world!”
Unfortunately, he turned out to be right: the Salon jury did not accept the painting. But Renoir was not upset, he was overcome by the general joy of the Batignolles: Durand-Ruel was successfully selling their works! Fortune did not turn away from Renoir either: several of his paintings were bought at a fabulous price - about 1,500 francs! And a little later Durand-Ruel began to show interest in him.
"Finally! - thought the artist. “The period of obscurity has passed and a period of success is coming!”

Impressionists (1874-1882)

So, Renoir’s life gradually began to improve: he was finally able to rent a good studio.
In the summer of 1874, the artist painted his famous “Dancer” in gray tones, conveying all the shades and tints of this color with incredible skill. Renoir discovered the great mystery of painting: the more you want to say, the less you should say. And he used it surprisingly carefully.
One of the best works, “The Lodge,” is no less skillfully written. Everything in this picture is simple: composition, plot, brushwork. The master used only a few shades of the same color, but so skillfully that this allowed him to be ranked among such brilliant colorists as Titian and Rubens.
The idea belonged to Claude Monet, who remembered Basil’s long-standing dream of organizing a community that would protect independent artists and organize their exhibitions. They were tired of the constant refusals of the Salon, neglect from academicians of painting, they decided to create their own world!
The idea was not liked by Edouard Manet, who, by the way, began to exhibit at the Salon (according to his friends, he gave up, having slipped into the traditional style of painting). There were other dissatisfied people who warned the artists against such a rash step. However, due to the shaken financial situation Durand-Ruel, the Batignolles needed to somehow sell their works.
Once, while describing Monet's works, he turned to the artist with a request to diversify their titles - they were too similar. Monet looked at the first painting he came across and, without hesitation, said: “Impression. Sunrise".
On the opening day, the halls of Nadar's workshop were filled with a noisy and indignant public. Not paying attention to the works of academic painters, people crowded in bewilderment at the paintings of Renoir, Monet, Cezanne, Pissarro, Sisley and Degas. It's no joke: instead of understandable images and accurate reproduction of reality, they were offered some kind of “daub”! Can this be called art? Probably, the authors of the paintings simply “shot” paints from tubes onto the canvas, and then put their signatures on them!
However, despite the disapproving and sometimes contemptuous roar, it was clear that these brave artists publicly declared the existence of a new art.
After the exhibition was visited by the critic Louis Leroy, a very unflattering article appeared in the Charivari newspaper entitled “Exhibition of the Impressionists” (the idea for the title was borrowed from Monet’s painting “Impression. Sunrise”). Following her, a hail of ridicule and jokes rained down on the Impressionists - this is how the former Batignolles began to be derisively called. Now their situation has become catastrophic, but they were warned!..
True, it was a little easier for Renoir: in addition to landscapes, he also painted portraits, and this helped make ends meet. For the whole summer, Auguste went to Argenteuil, which now became the center of impressionism. Here the artists, adherents of a new direction in painting, met their patron, the generous Gustave Caillebotte. He helped the former Batignolles with all his might: he bought their paintings and invited them to stay with him.
For Renoir, 1874 ended gloomily: the Anonymous Cooperative Partnership was liquidated, and his father soon died. Again there is a need, again it is necessary to think about how to make money...
In search of a way out of this situation, Renoir invited the Batignolles to organize a sale of paintings at the Drouot Hotel. In March 1875, an auction took place where works by Renoir, Monet and Sisley were sold for literally pennies.
During the auction, however, Renoir acquired two admirers of his talent in particular and impressionism in general: Victor Choquet, an official customs department, and Georges Charpentier, a wealthy publisher.
Soon Choquet invited the artist to paint a portrait of his wife. And thanks to Charpentier, who had previously bought “Fisherman with a Rod” from him, Renoir found himself in a brilliant secular society. Later, the Charpentier family commissioned him to paint portraits of their children. Such changes promised the artist the fate of a fashionable portrait painter and a solid income.
In April 1876, Durand-Ruel invited the Impressionists (by this time their ranks had thinned significantly: out of 30 people, only 19 remained faithful to the new direction) to hold another exhibition. Like the first, she was greeted with a roar of disapproval and was showered with ridicule. Renoir’s painting “Nude, Sun Effect” was especially criticized: the girl depicted in it was called “dead, with the effect of decaying flesh” by critics. No one was able to appreciate the skill of the artist who so skillfully conveyed the thrill of the sun’s glare on her body.
Despite this, Impressionism slowly conquered the public: this time all the newspapers published a report on the show, and some published positive reviews. Some critics even noted the influence of the new direction on the official Salon.

At the very top of the Montmartre hill there was an establishment called the Moulin de la Galette. It was a large square barn, around which a deck was built, where there were tables. On Sundays and holidays, dancing began here at three o'clock. The guests were served wine, and with it a signature dish - biscuits.
Renoir loved this establishment very much. He liked the local regulars - simple, cheerful and, oddly enough, often family people. His artist friends also came here.
Once Renoir made a sketch of this eternal celebration of life from memory in his workshop. One of my friends, having seen the sketch, said that he definitely needed to paint a picture based on it.
The girl in the striped dress in the foreground is Estella, the sister of one of Renoir's models, Jeanne.
At the table in the foreground are three friends of Renoir: Fran-Lami, Norbert Guenette and the journalist Georges Riviera, who in one of his editions of “The Impressionist” called “The Ball at the Moulin de la Galette” “a page of history, a wonderful monument to Parisian life, recreated with amazing accuracy." In 1877, the painting became one of the decorations of the third exhibition of the Impressionists.
Renoir, accustomed to working only in the open air, at that time was prevented from going to a cafe in Montmartre by necessity. Chance helped: he was generously paid for one portrait.
Without hesitation, the artist went to look for a suitable workshop. He was lucky enough to find very cozy furnished rooms with an excellent garden (later he painted here the painting “Swing”, amazing in color and play of light). Then he started looking for models. This, however, was not a problem: having heard about the “wealthy” artist, many girls came to him.
Another Renoir model, Marguerite Legrand (was also known in Montmartre as Little Margot), is the girl dancing on the left. Her partner is Cuban artist Pedro Cardenas.
So, Renoir began work on “The Ball at the Moulin de la Galette.” He planned to depict a motley crowd of people having fun in the light of day, under lush acacia trees; show their cheerful faces, the play of light and shadow on their clothes, and both light and shadow had to be warm, sparkling, like the dance itself.
While working, the artist became close to many of his models. He was amazed that young flirtatious girls, who danced in bright outfits during the day, returned in the evening to the squalid shacks of Montmartre, where hunger and unsanitary conditions reigned.
In order to somehow help the children who lived there, Renoir organized a charity ball at the Moulin de la Galette. However, the money collected was not enough to open a kind of shelter for the little inhabitants of Montmartre. Then he turned to Madame Charpentier for help. Even though she liked the idea, she didn't pay enough attention to it. However, some time later she organized the so-called Nursery.
Simultaneously with The Ball, Renoir painted several landscapes and portraits of wealthy Frenchmen.

If you look closely at the color used to paint Jeanne's shoulders and chest, you will notice many strokes various shades green. It's hard to imagine that before Renoir anyone dared to write human body in green tones.

In 1877, under the patronage of Gustave Caillebotte, the Impressionists decided to organize another exhibition.
And the girl looked at the master with love: even after so many years, the viewer feels her love for the artist, which he himself conveyed.
And again the public did not accept the impressionist exhibition in the best possible way, albeit with some favor. The paintings of Renoir and his friends again received a barrage of criticism. The portrait of Jeanne Samary, for example, was called unnatural and far from nature: where has this been seen, green stains on the skin? And the Ball at the Moulin de la Galette and the “Swing” turned out to be completely stained with some kind of stains! Did they get caught in the rain or were they splashed with mud? Ah, here's the thing: the artist wanted to convey in this way the shadow falling through the foliage on people! Incredible!

After the exhibition, Renoir, Caillebotte, Sisley and Pissarro again held a sale of their works at the Drouot Hotel. They offered 45 paintings to art lovers. As before, it did not bring a lot of money, but created a sensation around the artists: they were mocked again, caricatures were drawn on them, and even plays were staged. All this scared away buyers: where has this been seen - plotless painting for the sake of painting?
The artists understood: the rejection of academicism indicated that they did not support the existing social system. However, the emergence of impressionism meant only one thing: the current society has outlived its usefulness, and the time has come for a new art.
In 1878, Renoir, oddly enough, decided to go to the Salon again. Probably, the 37-year-old artist was tired of constant need and lack of demand. He understood: in order for paintings to be bought, they must bear the “stamp” of the Salon.

Renoir presented “Coffee” to the jury (later critics renamed the painting “Cup of Chocolate”). He relied on the portrait because he believed that after the appearance of this particular genre at the exhibition, he would receive orders.
The impressionists knew their friend well, so they did not perceive his action as a personal insult and treated him condescendingly. The 1878 Salon did not bring much profit to Renoir. Prada, Madame Charpentier decided to order him a portrait of herself with her children, Paul and Georgette. The painter spared no effort: he understood that enlisting the support of the wife of a wealthy publisher was his chance.
When the portrait was completed, Madame, with the help of her influential acquaintances, did everything possible to ensure that Renoir was accepted by the academicians of the Salon. Many saw the painting long before the exhibition and were delighted with it. The artist also prepared for the Salon a portrait of Jeanne Samary in full height.
In general, Madame Charpentier began to pay enormous attention to issues of art. She persuaded her husband to open a weekly publication, La Vie Moderne, dedicated to literature, painting and gossip column, and within the walls of the publishing house offered to organize personal exhibitions of artists. Renoir did not receive a penny for his cooperation with the magazine: he just wanted to please Madame, who promised to soon hold his personal exhibition (at that time this was a rarity).
And while Renoir was preparing for the Salon, his friends organized a fourth show - the “Exhibition of Independent Artists” (the word “impressionism” was specifically excluded from the title). On the opening day, the first issue of La Vie Moderne was published.
“We invite you to be present at the removal, funeral service and burial of the Impressionist gentlemen,” one of the critics wrote in the magazine.
Over time, Cezanne and Sisley broke away from the Impressionist group: like Renoir, they sent their paintings to the Salon, but they were refused participation.
After the opening of the Salon, the portrait of Madame Charpentier, which at her request was hung in the most prominent and advantageous place, was praised by both spectators and critics. Still would! The artist, who was entrusted to paint his portraits by the wife of a famous publisher and the actress of the Comédie Française, cannot be untalented.
Literally everyone started talking about Renoir and his painting. At the same time, the artist did not abandon his style of painting, but was able to change the opinion of the public about it, which was ready to believe that impressionism was undergoing changes (although in fact this was not the case).
Thanks to his fame, Renoir met the family of the diplomat Berard, who invited him to stay for the summer at his own estate on the English Channel coast.
Here, in Varzhemont, the painter liked everything: the hubbub of Berard’s three children, the beaches, beautiful landscapes and... freedom of creativity. What more could an artist dream of? Finally he achieved what he was striving for! Here Renoir painted a painting for the Salon, “Mussell Pickers in Berne-Vallée.”
1880 Monet separated from the group of impressionists, following the example of Renoir. According to Emile Zola, Impressionism was ready to split open like a ripe fruit. This was not surprising: every talented artist, sooner or later, must become an individual and look for his own original style of writing.
Some moved on, but many, especially beginners, as Monet put it, simply slipped into an ordinary “daub.” They learned the basic principles of impressionism, which they did not strive to develop further, which is why their painting became uninteresting and artificial.
Renoir continued to create for his own pleasure, he worked hard and received good money for his paintings. He liked this kind of life - the calm, measured existence of a bachelor. And naturally, when his thoughts began to be occupied not by painting, but by a woman, he was a little scared.
For several months now, Alina Sharigo, who worked in a sewing workshop, posed for him. She lived not far from the artist and often went to the dairy where he liked to have lunch. There they met. Renoir invited a charming girl to his place as a model.
Despite the significant age difference (almost 20 years), they found common interests and topics of conversation. Renoir was fascinated.
“You want to pat her on the back, like a kitten,” he said.
Alina loved to pose. She had absolutely no understanding of painting, but with some inner instinct she guessed that the name of this artist would forever go down in history. She was fascinated by the way he wielded brushes, shaded and applied paints.
Renoir could not decide to let a woman into his life. After all, this would mean that I would have to change painting, divide my time between it and love. Thanks to the feeling that arose, he began to rethink his works, with which he became more and more dissatisfied. What was he looking for for 20 years? What is impressionism anyway? Questions like these caused Renoir to begin to doubt whether he could write at all.
1881 Renoir doesn't feel like working at all. To change the situation, he decides to follow the example of the eternal wanderer Cezanne and go on a journey. Having asked his friend Charles Ephrussi to send portraits of the Cahen girls to the Salon, the artist went to Algeria (he had long dreamed of visiting the country glorified by his beloved Delacroix).
After returning from Algeria, Baron Barbier - the mayor of Saigon, a former cavalry officer - invited Renoir to realize one of his small plans. 14 people participated in its implementation.
This is how the painting “The Rowers' Breakfast” appeared. Its composition consists of many figures, but, even despite the festive atmosphere, this work cannot be called pompous. It seems that the artist wanted to capture what he used to love so much: the Seine, a restaurant, a cheerful and noisy company of young people.
Having completed this work, Renoir practically said goodbye to impressionism, returning to it in the future only in the most exceptional cases.
After “The Rowers' Breakfast” was over, Alina invited Renoir to leave the capital and go to the countryside, but he (albeit with difficulty) refused. They spent the summer apart: the painter went to Varzhemon.

Behind Alina, leaning on the fence, stands Alphonse Fournes, the son of the restaurant owner. A little further away is his sister Alfonsina. She listens to the story of her interlocutor, in the glare of the morning sun her straw hat looks as if gilded, contrasting with the dark curly hair and a blue ribbon on the crown.
Behind Maggiolo, in the background, three people are talking. Among them is a lady - Zhanna Samari, famous actress, model of several paintings by Renoir.
In the foreground is a girl in a dark dress and a straw hat with flowers, playing with a dog. In this picture the artist captured it for the first time, immediately making the main character canvases.
Sitting opposite Alina Sharigo famous artist Gustave Caillebotte. In the background is a girl in blue dress with a white collar and a white hat. This is Angele Legault, an acquaintance of Renoir, a former flower saleswoman, later known as an actress and singer.
“The Luncheon of the Rowers” ​​is one of the central paintings in the work of Auguste Renoir. Here, under a canopy, in the Fournaise family restaurant, the artist depicted almost all of his friends. The background of the picture - morning, transparent, fresh - allows you to see the Seine and the boats on it through the greenery. The canopy, however, does not prevent the sun's glare from playing on people's figures.
The figures in the farthest plane are painted in great detail. The woman drinking from a glass is a model who posed not only for Renoir, but also for Edouard Manet and Edgar Degas - Ellen Andre. Behind her are two men: standing facing the viewer is Jules Laforgue, a symbolist poet of Latin American origin; man in a top hat - Charles Ephrussi, critic, art critic, collector, philanthropist, influential person of the time.
In this picture, describing many details with amazing accuracy, Renoir approaches realism. Of particular note is the still life in the center. He deserved to be separate independent work. The artist succeeded in the texture of the fabric on the table, the ringing transparency of the glass of glasses and bottles, and the juiciness of the grapes on the plate. The master achieved this by playing with contrast and carefully working with highlights.
Torment in love, suffering in art... In the fall, Renoir received an invitation from Madame Charpentier to paint a portrait of her youngest daughter. However, remembering early years training with Gleyre and Ingres, whom he once happened to see at work.
“I suddenly wanted to see Raphael,” the painter wrote in a letter of apology addressed to Madame Charpentier.
Renoir visited many cities in Italy, but only Venice inspired him to create several works.
Renoir devoted almost six years to the painting “Umbrellas”. It depicts a busy scene on the streets of Paris during the rain. The composition itself resembles a random photograph. The artist managed to convey the bustle at the moment when people are in a hurry to open their umbrellas and hide from the elements. This, according to Renoir, was the main task of impressionism - to convey the feelings that the artist experiences at a certain moment, to give the viewer the opportunity to experience them.
Before Venice, he visited Florence, where one of Raphael’s most famous Madonnas was located - “Madonna in the Chair” (painted in the Pitti Palace). Renoir did not expect that she would amaze him so much: how correctly and simply her figure was drawn! Without thinking twice, after Venice the painter went straight to Rome to properly study the work of the great Italian.
“This is wonderful, and I should have seen it earlier,” Renoir noted, not without sadness. - It is full of knowledge and wisdom. Raphael did not strive, like me, for the impossible.
The middle ground of the painting shows a girl looking up. Apparently she's checking to see if the rain has stopped. Renoir perfectly managed to convey the expression of her face, even if for the most part hidden by the woman's hat in the foreground.

But it's great. In oil painting I prefer Ingres. But the frescoes are magnificent in their simplicity and grandeur.”
Next, a delightful painting of Pompeii in Naples awaited him. The artist was delighted with it: it’s simply amazing how the masters of the past, using only primary colors, achieved such precise and perfect lines in their works! Where are the modern “geniuses” who have so forgotten the pictorial traditions of the past that they cannot even draw a hand? Renoir began to look for himself again: he wrote and wiped off the paints, and wrote again, and wiped away again.
After some time, he settled in Capri, where he wrote one of his best works, “The Blonde Bather.” You can feel in it how painful it was for the artist crucial moment, but at the same time there is a triumph of line and volume, which he learned from Raphael and Ingres.
Renoir missed Paris very much, but he was not destined to get to the capital in the near future. First he went to Sicily, where he painted a portrait of the great composer Wagner; Afterwards he visited Cézanne in Estac, where he became seriously ill with pneumonia. Having recovered a little, he again went to Algeria (to receive medical treatment and paint several portraits, since the last time he brought only landscapes from there).
The artist returned to Paris seven months after leaving. What did he understand during the trip? Firstly, that he still has a lot to learn, that he has not fully grasped the art of painting. Secondly, that he cannot live without Alina.

"Academic period" (1882-1892)
“When you look at the works of great artists of the past, you understand that there is no need to philosophize. What excellent masters of their craft these people were in the first place! How they knew their craft! This is it all. Painting is not some kind of dream... Really, artists consider themselves exceptional beings, they imagine that, having put blue paint instead of black, they will turn the world upside down,” was Renoir’s opinion about art.
He returned to Paris, to Alina. Their love blossomed and gave the artist creative strength. Alina suited him perfectly: when necessary, she protected him from unnecessary worries, she was restrained and majestic, like a queen.
In Vargemont, Renoir began to paint a series of paintings depicting dancing couples. These three planned works were completed by the end of 1883. All of them are distinguished by a drier texture and clear modeling, bordering on stylized images.

Summer (Gypsy Girl). 1868. Oil, canvas. 85×59 cm. National Gallery Berlin (Germany)

Renoir began to pay more attention to drawing the naked body, strove to convey the exact structure of each muscle, sometimes going so far as to save expressive means and modesty of the image (in other words, to the point of academicism). He exchanged bright colors for simple colors, content only with yellow or red, green or black. Now the painter believed that impressionism was too “florid”, too complex, which is why he lacked means of expression.
He was haunted by the frescoes he saw in Italy. He wanted to know how to achieve both the matte and radiant look that delighted him so much.
The year 1883 turned out to be unremarkable for the artist: the Salon jury rejected all his paintings, and the personal exhibition organized by Durand-Ruel did not bring the expected results. However, thanks to orders for portraits, Renoir was not at all worried about this state of affairs.
One day, in a second-hand bookstore, he unexpectedly came across Cennino Cennini’s “Treatise on Painting,” translated by Ingres’s student in 1858, which described the most important techniques and techniques of the 15th century masters. After reading the book, Renoir was once again convinced that all the achievements of the past, unfortunately, were forgotten and there were simply no people left who owned them. He literally hated impressionism and began to paint in compliance with the proportions that he calculated to more accurately convey the form. Sometimes he applied sketches to canvas and only then painted in oil.
Renoir hatched the idea for this painting for a long time. He walked for a long time in the Versailles garden, wandered among the sculptures, examining them perfect shapes, and one day drew attention to “The Bathing of the Nymphs” - a lead bas-relief by Girardon. Yes, this was exactly what was needed for the composition of the intended picture!
Having carefully copied the bas-relief, Renoir began to practice the poses of naked girls on canvas. It was a real struggle that exhausted the artist and took all his strength. He began painting bathers in 1884, and finished only in 1886. During this time, countless sketches and sketches were made, the poses of the undines and their number were changed several times (in the end there were five left - for the brevity of the composition it should have been enclosed within strict boundaries).
How strictly everything is in this work: the composition, the choice of colors, and the structure! In “Great Bathers,” Renoir showed mental painting, the work of an artist who thinks and calculates every stroke of the brush. He later presented the picture at International exhibition at the Georges Petit gallery in 1887. There she aroused conflicting feelings among both the audience and Renoir's colleagues, but still enjoyed success.
No less difficult for the artist was the work on the painting “Children’s Evening in Varzhemon”, painted in a classical style in a dry manner. Here Renoir did not fully demonstrate his talent as a colorist (before he would not have regretted bright colors), carefully choosing colors that look very harmonious. The artist’s style is also unrecognizable due to the linear composition, which is not typical for him. previous works. “Evening” is a clear evidence of the master’s mental and creative discord, which nevertheless pushed him to further creative searches.
For this painting, Renoir posed for him future wife Alina Sharigo (left), as well as Suzanne Valadon (right), who later became a famous artist.

In 1885, Renoir learned that Alina was expecting a child. His feelings are in turmoil: unfortunately, at this time the artist is again experiencing financial difficulties, and here is such an important event. Renoir even paid for the work of the doctor who delivered the child with his painting, fortunately the doctor turned out to be kind person and did not refuse to take the canvas.
Soon after the birth of their son, the family moved to Alina’s homeland, Essois, where the picturesque valleys of the vineyards of Champagne and Burgundy lie. Here the artist finds peace again, nature helps him understand that there is nothing more to look for. Works of this period there is no doubt about it. First appears "Hairstyle", where Renoir finally achieves the level of figure painting that he was striving for: the naked body of a girl after bathing is depicted with excellent accuracy.
But most of his attention during this period he paid to Alina, who after the birth of his son Pierre attracted him even more. He constantly made sketches of his nursing wife, and some time later he wrote “Motherhood” based on them, where he depicted Alina with her baby in the garden near the house.

This work makes a connection with classic plot- Madonna and Child. Later the artist created several similar paintings.

After the World Exhibition of 1887, his friends and colleagues began to look askance at Renoir. Journalists wrote that “it seems that Renoir took a step back in his painting,” his works were called simplified and reproached for academicism. The artist began to wonder: did he do the right thing when he turned away from the path of impressionism? Previously, he had already destroyed several paintings written like “Great Bathers” - they seemed to him frankly unsuccessful. So what's now? How to go back?
In 1887, Berthe Morisot, the wife of Edouard Manet's brother, commissioned Renoir to paint a portrait of her daughter.
Julie. In this work, the artist made the texture softer, finally releasing his artistic flair, which made the painting literally shine. The crisis was receding, and although the lines still remained clear and rigid, it was no longer dry painting.
Renoir continued to paint portraits, thus earning a living. He traveled a lot, looking for inspiration. Everyone who followed his creative growth was amazed at his constant search for himself, his bold experiments.
At the end of 1888, while visiting the Manet couple in Simiez, Renoir felt unwell.

For Renoir, 1889 began very poorly: a sudden illness broke him not so much physically as mentally. However, he tried not to despair and continued to work. In the work of this time, the features that characterize future painting began to be clearly visible: the “period of rigor” ended and brought an excellent knowledge of form, which the artist would never have achieved if he had remained faithful to impressionism.
Renoir managed to combine the most important achievements in his painting - he clothed the form with sensory impressions, using light and color to achieve excellent structures (this is especially noticeable in the depiction of female figures). All works written after “The Great Bathers” take on lush, magnificent forms.
The master's creativity matured slowly. His talent was revealed gradually thanks to his drive, desire to overcome any difficulties, desire to learn and improve. Long years the artist experimented, searched... And then the most important stage of his life came - by the age of fifty he finally found his true purpose in painting.
Having gotten rid of doubts, he completely devoted himself to creativity. He painted many paintings, created countless sketches, and took part in exhibitions with pleasure (in 1890 - in the “Group of Twenty” and the Durand-Ruel exhibition). At the Salon, where he had not exhibited for about seven years, the artist presented a portrait of the daughters of Catulle Mendes. This painting was placed under a canopy and was difficult to see. After this, the painter forever refused to cooperate with the Salon.
In April 1890, Renoir and Alina officially got married. During this year, the artist actively visited his favorite places, visited Berthe Morisot, communicated with the poet Stéphane Mallarmé, and collaborated with Durand-Ruel.
In the summer of 1891, he went with Alina to the south, where he wanted to take up painting and send Durand-Ruel more pictures(apparently he was planning a personal exhibition that would secure his fame talented artist). The works of this period are particularly colorful and sound color combinations. Undoubtedly, Renoir became a great colorist. His contemporaries also began to realize the significance of his work for painting: some wanted to organize an exhibition of paintings, others wanted to get to know the great painter better.

Paddling pool (another option). 1869. Oil, canvas. 65×92 cm. Oskar Rinehart Museum (Winterthur, Switzerland)

In 1892, the Durand-Ruel Gallery hosted a personal exhibition of Renoir, for which he prepared about 110 canvases from various periods. Reviews of the show were brilliant, completely different from previous ones. But at one time the public booed many of the master’s works!.. Now the director of the department wanted to purchase one of the paintings fine arts Henri Roujon. Such a state order instantly transferred Renoir to the category of official artists.
"Mother of Pearl Period" (1892-1902)
In 1892, Renoir went to Spain. He didn't spend much time there - only a month. However, this was enough to enjoy the works of Velazquez and Goya.
During these years, changes occurred in Renoir's work: the brushstrokes became sweeping and plastic, and the strict precision of color was replaced by pearlescent gloss and shimmer. Apparently, it was a trip to Spain that marked the beginning of the “pearl period”.
As if sensing that his illness would soon make him immobile forever, Renoir traveled a lot. He was in London, where he admired the paintings of William Turner, Richard Bonington and Claude Lorrain. In The Hague, masters were amazed by the works of Jan Vermeer. Having learned that his Laundresses (1656) were kept in Dresden, he immediately went there.
In 1897, while riding a bicycle, the painter broke his arm. At first he didn't attach much importance to it. But soon after the cast was removed, she began to hurt, so she had to call a doctor.
Renoir felt that the day he feared most was approaching, when he would no longer be able to write. However, the artist did not give in to despondency and threw himself into his work. He convinced Alina that he just wanted to get more money, but in fact could not part with painting. Refusal from it meant death for Renoir. Since then, every morning the artist worked on the joints using small balls.
In general, Renoir began to spend more time with his family and draw inspiration from looking at his children. He admired their facial expressions, clear eyes... Most often, Jean, for whom the painter forbade him to cut his thick red hair, posed for him. In addition, the artist was also interested in the female figure. He loved to depict the nude bodies of his models, admired them, and depicted the rounded hips with special love.
At the beginning of 1899, Renoir suffered another attack of rheumatism.
In early July, at one of the auctions, his painting was sold for a huge amount - 20,000 francs. True, the artist was not happy about this: he began to perceive such sales with irritation; argued that people began to value money rather than art.
He could grumble about this for a long time, but at the end of the conversation he always justified himself: they say, on the other hand, money for paintings is payment for the pleasure that the artist receives while working.
Renoir tried to spend as much time as possible in the south, which he considered the birthplace of his art: it was here that he found sparkling colors, warm tones, real life and joy, transparency and clarity of the sky. Deciding from now on to spend every winter on the Mediterranean Sea, in 1900, not far from Grasse, he rented a villa, where he enjoyed painting his favorite motifs: children and women.
On August 18, 1900, Renoir was awarded the title of Chevalier of the Legion of Honor. His illness progressed: walking and writing became more and more difficult. The artist was overcome by the fear that he would soon have to forget about creativity forever. In November, he learned that he would become a father for the third time. This news did not make him very happy: at his age, when he can hardly move his legs!..
Renoir continued to paint models; the cook Gabrielle posed for him with pleasure. Gazing at her naked body, he thought about how to transfer these delicate features of an elastic body to canvas, by what means to give life to these girlish forms.
In 1901, Renoir had a son, Claude, for whom he developed a truly grandfatherly affection. He tirelessly admired his tiny body and chubby hands, and with pleasure painted tender pictures filled with love for baby Coco, as everyone called him. In addition, now there was someone to lure Jean, whose beautiful curls were cut off against Renoir’s will and who was sent to study.
In 1902, the painter’s condition worsened: his legs began to fail, the nerve of his left eye was paralyzed, causing his gaze to wander. The weaker the artist’s body became, the more magnificent and beautiful his Madonnas on canvases turned out and the more lively and sweet their forms looked.

Still life with a large flower vase. 1866. Oil, canvas. 104×80 cm. Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, USA)

"Red Period" (1903-1919)

IN last years Renoir, although he continued to paint in the same manner, preferred shades of red and pink, which is why this period is often called “red”. After a trip to the Netherlands and acquaintance with Vermeer’s work, his paintings began to reflect their creator’s passion for Renaissance artists, becoming more saturated and heavy in color perception. He continues to paint his favorite subjects: children, naked women, sunny landscapes.
In 1903, a new art salon was created in Paris. In 1904, the organizers of the autumn Salon wanted to see the works of Renoir and made a corresponding request to Durand-Ruel. He, in turn, asked the artist for permission. However, at the time of receiving the letter from the collector, due to poor health, the master was in a bad mood, so he answered very ambiguously... And after some time he began to work with even greater ardor - he finally decided to participate in the exhibition, where he was given a whole hall!
Despite the fact that arthritis increasingly deformed the master’s hands, he did not give up and continued to create. Of course, the style of writing has changed because of this, but not for the worse. The strokes became larger, and the impression from the paintings, in which the compositions were more complete and unified, became deeper. Absolutely different shapes They merged neatly, but did not mix.
“Let them kiss,” Renoir said about it.
In those years, the artist’s family constantly wandered in search of a suitable climate for the patient. They soon found such a place - it turned out to be the village of Cagnes, where in 1907 the Renoirs purchased the Villa Colette.
Here the artist began to hatch the idea of ​​​​creating monumental paintings in the style of decorative Italian wall painting.

Here Renoir creates “Bathers,” which were destined to become his pictorial testament to future generations of artists.
In 1910, Renoir created a whole series of portraits, including his last self-portrait. In his opinion, self-portrait is the lot of artists who conceal some kind of life tragedy in the depths of their souls. They want to take a better look at themselves and understand their feelings. Renoir never felt morally empty: no matter how difficult it was, love, happiness and hope always lived inside him. He carried within himself only kindness, tireless admiration of nature and its beauty.
In the summer of 1910, the painter’s condition improved and he went to Munich, where one of the wealthy industrialists ordered him a portrait of his wife.
However, this was just the calm before the storm. Soon his legs and arms began to hurt more than ever, and Renoir felt himself losing control of his body.
After returning to Cagnes, he was prescribed a wheelchair, and now he worked only while sitting: a palette was placed on his lap. Linen bandages were wrapped around the fingers and a brush was inserted between them. He still loved to paint his son Claude and Gabrielle, whom he depicted in transparent clothes and naked, conveying the environment and figure of his model in the beautiful shimmer of fabric, in the delicate shine of flowers and decorations, depicting her breasts with incredible love.
1912 Renoir's fame grew, his villa was constantly besieged by hundreds of journalists and young artists, the organizers organized more and more exhibitions, at one of which early work the masters were sold at a fabulous price at that time - 95,000 francs!
Anxiety settled in his soul. For the first time, he painted to forget himself: he mechanically moved his brush across the canvas, so children, flowers and naked figures came out as cheerful as before.
Alina died in 1915. For a long time she hid from her husband, with whom she lived for 33 happy years, that she had diabetes. Sitting by the dying woman’s bed, the artist could not hold back his tears. He kissed his wife on the forehead and asked her to take him to the workshop.

Auguste Renoir. Photo from 1910

By 1913, Renoir was completely immobilized. However, he wanted to create! One day, Ambroise Vollard, a famous art dealer, came to see him. He said that Renoir could create, but not with paintings and not with his own hands. It is enough to recall Auguste Rodin, who provided the opportunity to sculpt enlarged statues from the figurines he created to his students. So, painting should be replaced by sculpture!
Renoir had long been nurturing a similar idea, and Vollard’s words only confirmed him in the correctness of this idea. In addition, the merchant brought to the studio the painter Richard Guino, a young student of the sculptor Aristide Maillol.
Work has begun. Guino and Renoir worked well together: the student understood his teacher perfectly.
In 1914, Renoir began work on “Venus”: first a figurine was made, and then work began on a full-fledged statue about eighty meters high. At the request of the industrialist Maurice Gagne, the master made a plaster bas-relief “The Judgment of Paris”, later planning to embody in bronze all the figures from this composition in full height and decorate the Colette park with them.
In the same year the First World War, to which Renoir's two eldest sons were called.
There, on an easel, stood an unfinished painting of roses. The master's shoulders shook with sobs. Stroke by stroke he gave life to these flowers.
Renoir was engaged in sculpture until 1918, until he and Guino had a disagreement, after which the apprentice left.

The entire space of the artist was filled with flowers; only flowers came out from under his brush. Creating the whole as if in parts, Renoir was happy, he was a singer of happiness. Probably, few people managed to live their lives in accordance with its laws, with the laws of nature.
In the fall of 1915, Renoir returned to the Villa Collette, where another miracle awaited him: they brought him a new model - the red-haired beauty Andre, or Dede, as everyone called her. Renoir perked up and set to work with renewed vigor. He felt an inner heat that had not gripped him for so long.
But, unfortunately, illnesses did not leave his body: first bronchitis, then pneumonia and terrible, persistent rheumatic pains. The artist languished from his poor health, but did not lose his presence of mind and fought against adversity as best he could.
Once he was asked why he continued to write, experiencing such incredible torment, to which he replied:
“Suffering passes, but beauty remains.”
December 2, 1919 at the age of 78 great artist and the sculptor died of pneumonia, having finished his last job- still life with anemones.
He worked until his last breath: over the past decade, more than 100 canvases came out of his brush. They didn’t even have time to put them in frames, so they stood in his workshop, nailed to ordinary wooden sticks.
Renoir's paintings are presented in many museums around the world, but the largest collection, including works from all periods, is kept in the Louvre.
In 1960, a museum of the artist was opened at the Villa Colette.

Auguste Renoir French painter, sculptor, graphic artist

Villa "Kolet t".Modern shot Still life with a large flower vase. 1866. Oil, canvas. 104×80 cm. Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, USA) Clearing in the forest. 1865 Oil, canvas. 89.5×116 cm. Detroit Institute of Arts (USA) Portrait of Madame Renoir. 1860. Oil, canvas. 45×38 cm. Private collection Portrait of William Sisley. 1864 Oil, canvas. 81.5×65.5 cm. Orsay Museum (Paris, France)

Pierre Auguste Renoir (French: Pierre-Auguste Renoir; February 25, 1841, Limoges - December 3, 1919, Cagnes-sur-Mer) - French painter, graphic artist and sculptor, one of the main representatives of impressionism. Known, first of all, as a master of secular portraits, not devoid of sentimentality. Renoir was the first of the Impressionists to gain success among wealthy Parisians. In the mid-1880s. he actually broke with impressionism, returning to the linearity of classicism, to “engrism”. Father of the famous director Jean Renoir.

Auguste Renoir was born on February 25, 1841 in Limoges, a city in south-central France. Renoir was the sixth child of 7 children of the poor tailor Leonard Renoir (1799-1874) and his wife Marguerite (1807-1896).

In 1844, the Renoirs moved to Paris. Here Auguste enters the church choir at the great Saint-Eustache Cathedral. He had such a voice that the choir director, Charles Gounod, tried to convince the boy’s parents to send him to study music. But besides this, Auguste showed the gift of an artist. When he was 13 years old, he began helping the family by getting a job with a master, from whom he learned to paint porcelain plates and other utensils. In the evenings, Auguste attended painting school.

In 1865, at the house of his friend, artist Jules Le Coeur, he met 16-year-old Lisa Treo. She soon became Renoir's lover and his favorite model. In 1870, their daughter Jeanne Marguerite was born - although Renoir refused to officially acknowledge his paternity. Their relationship continued until 1872, when Lisa left Renoir and married someone else.

Renoir's creative career was interrupted in 1870-1871, when he was drafted into the army during the Franco-Prussian War, which ended in a crushing defeat for France.

In 1890, Renoir married Alina Charigot, whom he had met ten years earlier, when she was a 21-year-old seamstress. They already had a son, Pierre, born in 1885. After the wedding, they had two more sons - Jean, born in 1894, and Claude (known as "Coco"), born in 1901 and who became one of his father's favorite models. By the time his family finally formed, Renoir had achieved success and fame, was recognized as one of the leading artists in France and managed to receive from the state the title of Knight of the Legion of Honor.

Renoir's personal happiness and professional success were overshadowed by illness. In 1897, he broke his right arm in a fall from his bicycle. As a result, he developed rheumatism, from which the artist suffered for the rest of his life. This made it difficult for Renoir to live in Paris, and in 1903 the Renoir family moved to an estate called "Colette" in the small town of Cagnes-sur-Mer.

After an attack of paralysis in 1912, despite two surgical operations, Renoir was confined to wheelchair, however, he continued to write with a brush that the nurse placed between his fingers.

In the last years of his life, Renoir gained fame and universal recognition. In 1917, when his Umbrellas were exhibited at the London National Gallery, hundreds of British artists and art lovers sent him congratulations, saying: “From the moment your picture was hung alongside the works of the Old Masters, we experienced the joy that our contemporary took his rightful place in European painting" Renoir's painting was also exhibited at the Louvre. In August 1919, the artist visited Paris for the last time to look at her.

On December 2, 1919, at the age of 79, Pierre Auguste Renoir died in Cagnes-sur-Mer from pneumonia. He was buried in Essois.

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Auguste Renoir (Pierre-Auguste Renoir) 1841-1919 French artist, recognized master portrait of a woman. Biography and paintings.

Even though the famous composer Charles Gounod did not advise young Auguste to devote himself to music, the boy’s father, a tailor, saw the profession of a porcelain artist as the pinnacle of his son’s career - profitable and respected. However, Auguste Renoir surpassed both his father's ambitions and his personal pretensions, becoming a world-famous impressionist artist who enriched the world's artistic heritage with his superb works.

From craft to art.

Young Renoir could not complain about fate - his work, which consisted of painting porcelain services, brought satisfaction and income, but technical progress, who introduced the printing technique, brought his craft to nothing. Having saved some money, the young man decided to study, choosing for himself the School at the Academy of Arts, where he ended up in the workshop of Charles Gleyre.

Already Auguste’s first steps aroused the teacher’s displeasure - the young man worked too boldly with paints, rejecting the canons of academicism. However, in the workshop Renoir found many like-minded people who were looking for new means of expression, and already in 1863 Renoir, along with Monet, Sisley, Basil, and Pissarro, stopped attending classes. Desperately fighting poverty, the future founders of impressionism worked together to obtain paints for work, as well as food.

The following years were characterized by a search for style, experiments and the first recognition of Renoir. First iconic painting, which revealed the still unknown artist to the public, came the work “Lisa”, depicting Auguste’s beloved - the Salon positively accepted the painting in 1868. In general, the portrait genre can be noted as the leading one in the early Renoir, and he mainly depicted his brothers “in the shop” - Sisley, Basil and his wife, Monet.

Long live impressionism!

It can be said that Renoir understood his individuality very early and formed a personal view of art in general, which consisted in the desire to give joy to the public through painting, to bring light and beauty, to the detriment of moralizing and edifying teachings.

If classical art presented things as too ideal, then Renoir advocated the maximum transfer of naturalness and reality, where light, air, immediacy, spontaneity and coloristic solutions played enormous importance. Renoir’s transitional work in his impressionist period is the painting “New Bridge”, where the plot with a carefully constructed perspective and precise architectural details is presented to the viewer through a blurred prism of air melted in the sun, due to which all the lines are devoid of clarity and the figures are definite.

In 1874, Renoir often visited Argenteuil, where Monet lived - together they painted en plein air, working in a sketchy manner, paying special attention to the Seine as a subject. This collaboration will have a significant impact on the work of both artists.

In addition to rich landscapes and boulevard spaces, the Impressionists were invariably attracted to the theater with its numerous images, plots, and diverse audiences, and Renoir was no exception. The paintings “Lodge”, “Dancer”, “Parisian” were an excellent example of the master’s work in theatrical and theatrical scenery.

Another bright page in the master’s work was turned in 1875, when canvases appeared demonstrating the unity of man and nature - “Nude in sunlight" and "Nude". The paintings are distinguished by unsurpassed harmony, filled with light playing on the delicate skin of the models.

It should be noted that all these searches, which led to the creation of truly great paintings, did not bring monetary compensation - impressionism was rejected by the public, and therefore Renoir, who was faithful to the style, had a hard time. However, even then his portraits were popular, and it was they that brought in income. This is how the beautiful works “Portraits of Jeanne Samary”, “Portrait of Madame Charpentier with Children”, “Girl with a Fan”, “Portrait of Alphonsine Fournet”, etc. appeared.

At the crest of success and the end of days.

Unlike his comrades, Renoir sought to participate in the Salon, since it was in this case that one could count on recognition. Not without the help of connections, the painter still makes his way to official exhibitions, little by little earning honor. In the early 80s, Renoir was a respected artist, and in 1883 his first solo exhibition was organized.

Early 80s Renoir meets Alina Sherigo, who became the master's wife and muse. The artist is now financially prosperous, which only contributes to creativity, thanks to numerous trips made in search of new themes.

Throughout his life, the artist remained true to himself - he is a “singer” of beauty, joy and happiness, as can be seen once again in his series of dancing pair paintings: “Dance in the Village”, “Dance in the City”, “Dance in Bougival” .

Renoir tirelessly developed his subjects in the 80s and 90s, depicting naked muses in the lap of nature (“Large Bathers”, “Seated Bather”) and creating portraits of amazing beauty (“Girl in a Straw Hat”, “Hairdressing” girl") until the tragic injury received after falling from a bicycle. A consummate optimist, Renoir, who had broken his right hand, learned to write with his left, however, rapidly developing arthritis reminded of itself with pain and atrophy.

With the advent of the 1900s came international recognition, foreign exhibitions, worldwide fame and the receipt of honorary insignia, but nothing could save Renoir from paralysis. The end of his life turned out to be completely bleak - two sons returned wounded from the First World War, Alina, who fought for her husband’s health, quickly passed away under the weight of worries, and the master himself continued to be consumed by illness.

But until his death on December 2, 1919, the master’s palette shone with optimism and joy, and his work was full of admiration for light, smooth skin, gentle curves of the body, a radiant smile and bright eyes. Renoir before last days served the burden I had once chosen for myself in art - to bring joy and light through painting. His paintings eloquently tell how he accomplished the task.