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Pierre Auguste Renoir Biography

Pierre Auguste Renoir aka
Pierre Auguste Renoir
Born: 1841-02-25
Birthplace: Limoges, Haute-Vienne, France
Died: 1919-12-17
Location of Death: Cagnes-sur-Mer, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
Remains: Buried, Essoyes Cimetière, Essoyes, Aube, France

Race: White
Field: Painter
Famous for: Le Bal au Moulin de la Galette

Field: Painter

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (February 25, 1841 - December 3, 1919) was a preeminent French painter.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir was born in Limoges, Haute-Vienne, France, the child of a working-class family. As a boy, he worked in a porcelain factory where his interest in painting led to him painting designs on china. In 1862 he studied art in Paris, where he met Alfred Sisley, Frederic Bazille and Claude Monet.

His initial paintings were influenced by the artistry of Eugene Delacroix and his close friend Monet who helped Renoir found the Impressionism movement. He would go on to become one of the greatest painters of his time. Today his paintings are probably the most popular, well-known, and frequently reproduced images in the history of art.


- Pierrre-Auguste Renoir -
Although Renoir had his first exhibit of paintings in 1864 he did not gain any real recognition for another ten years due to the turmoil in Paris as a result of the Franco-Prussian War. During the Paris Commune in 1871, Pierre-Auguste Renoir was arrested as a government spy. His life was saved when he was recognized by one of the Commune leaders, whom Renoir had himself protected on another occasion. In the mid 1870s, the first exhibition was held for the new impressionist painters and Renoir gained his first great acclaim.

While living and working in Montmartre, he would have an affair with one of his models, Suzanne Valadon who would become one of the leading female artists of the day. He would later marry Aline Victorine Charigot, with whom he would have three sons, one of which, Jean Renoir, would become an important filmmaker. After marriage, his work changed when he became very much family oriented and was equally as interested in painting individual or family portraits as he was in landscapes

One of the most famous impressionist works by any painter, is his 1876 Le Bal au Moulin de la Galette (Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette), an open-air scene, jammed with people, of a popular dance garden on the Butte Montmartre not far from where he had been living. (See photo below.)

In 1881 he traveled to Algeria, a country he associated with Eugene Delacroix, then to Madrid, Spain to see the work of Diego Velazquez and then to Italy to see Titian's masterpieces in Florence and the paintings of Raphael in Rome. On January 15, 1882 Renoir met composer Richard Wagner at his home in Palermo, Sicily. Renoir painted Wagner's portait in just 35 minutes.

One of the most prolific artists ever, over a 60 year period, Pierre-Auguste Renoir made several thousand paintings. Even during the last 20 years of his life when he was severely hampered by arthritis and wheelchair-bound. He moved to the warmer climate of Cagnes-sur-Mer not far fromNice on the Mediterranean Sea and continued to paint by using a brush strapped to his arm. He even created sculptures, dictating to an assistant who worked the clay.

In 1919, Renoir had the extraordinary experience of visting the Louvre to see his paintings hanging with the old masters.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir died in the village of Cagnes-sur-Mer, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, on December 3, 1919.

Renoir has had two paintings sell for more than $70 million US.

Pierre Auguste Renoir Famous Quote

It is after you have lost your teeth that you can afford to buy steaks.
More famous quotes by Pierre Auguste Renoir


Pierre Auguste Renoir News


Kimbell exhibit offers glimpse of what decorates the walls of Texas estates
Fort Worth Star Telegram
Pierre-Auguste Renoir, The Wave (1882), from the Dixon Gallery and Garden, Memphis. Formerly in the collection of Montgomery "Montie" HW Ritchie, JA...


Deccan Herald

Renoir, van Gogh paintings highlight a revamped gallery
Tulsa World
One painting each by Vincent van Gogh and Pierre-Auguste Renoir are now on display at the museum, on long-term loan from the Armand Hammer Foundation. ...
The good docto...


Exhibits: Show reflects changes in Renoir's midlife work
Reading Eagle
AP PARIS - An exhibit in Paris showcases artwork from the second half of Pierre-Auguste Renoir's career, when he changed course to experiment with a more ...



IFPDA Presents printfair 09
Antiques and the Arts Online
Although certainly not paper, a low relief bronze sculpture titled "Coco, Portrait of Renoir's Son Claude" by Pierre Auguste Renoir was available at $42000. ...



LET'S COOK: Renoir's onions a work of art
Minot Daily News
Learning it had been painted by impressionist artist, Pierre-Auguste Renoir piqued my interest. These onions were so lifelike that you could almost hear the ...



Renoirs among new High Museum acquisitions
Access Atlanta
The High Museum of Art has added two paintings by Pierre Auguste Renoir to its permanent collection, the first by the French master to ...



Philadelphia Museum of Art to Host Avant-Garde Exhibits
Leisure Group Travel
Late Renoir (June 17-Sept. 6) follows Pierre-Auguste Renoir's later years as he considered his legacy and created masterpieces that draw comparisons to ...



Giovanni Boldini in Impressionist Paris Opens in February at the Clark
Art Daily
In addition, five Clark works by Ernest Meissonier, Camille Pissarro, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, and Edouard Manet make evident the influence of ...



BBC News

Sotheby's Rallies With Lively Sale
Wall Street Journal
Asian collectors flexed more purchasing power this time around, bidding over the telephone and taking home works by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Pablo Picasso, ...
Sotheby's Outguns Christie's ...


Christie's to Sell Impressionist and Modern Art Works on Paper
Art Daily
Among the Impressionist highlights of the Day sale is a selection of eight paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) including a sketch or esquisse for ...




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