Auguste Renoir (1841-1919)

“Why shouldn't art be pretty “Why shouldn't art be pretty? There are enough unpleasant things in the world.” Auguste Renoir Throughout his long career and despite many changes of style, his paintings always remain joyful. They evoke a dreamy, carefree world full of light and colour where beautiful women dance with their lovers

Renoir was the only member of the Impressionists who came from a working class background. The Young Renoir worked for many years as a decorative painter in a Paris porcelain factory. He made the transition from artisan to artist at the the age of 19. As a result of the closure of the factory, due to industrial developments (machines had became cheaper than manpower), Renoir forever became distrustful of new technologies.

Art Education In 1862, at the age of 21, Renoir became a student at the studio of Charles Gleyre. Gleyre stressed the importance of painting outdoors and encouraged Renoir to visit the forests of Fountainbleu. Also enrolled in this school were Claude Monet, Alfred Sisley and Frédéric Bazille

Forest of Fountainbleau is 40 miles outside Paris Forest of Fountainbleau is 40 miles outside Paris. Renoir stayed there for weeks at a time, spending the days painting the effects of dappled light beneath the trees, working closely with Monet but gradually developed his own style.

The Ball at the Moulin de la Gallette, 1876 This painting is doubtless Renoir's most important work of the mid 1870's and was shown at the third Impressionist exhibition in 1877. The painting depicts the open air dance hall in Montmartre. Working class Parisians would dress up and spend time drinking and dancing there. It got it's name from the 'galettes' it served. Although Renoir painted this work in his studio, he visited its location every day immersing himself in the atmosphere of the area and sketching on the spot

Renoir ‘La Grenouille’ 1869 Monet ‘La Grenouille’ 1869 Renoir ‘La Grenouille’ 1869 Another popular painting destination was the middle class resort of ‘la Grenouillere’ a train ride away from Paris on the banks of the Seine near Bougival. Renoir lived here for a while with his mistress and parents who had retired to this town.

In 1869 Renoir worked very closely with Monet and both were focused on painting light and water. It was during this time that they developed the technique that became central to Impressionism. They discovered that shadows are not brown or black but are colored and modified by the light and reflections of surrounding objects

Manet ‘Music in the Tuileries Gardens’ 1862 Renoir ‘Moulin de la Gallette’ 1876 Renoir was also influenced by Manet which you can see in these paintings and their similar subject matter.

Differences between Renoir and Monet Monet was primarily interested in landscape and waterscapes and the way light played on this subject matter. If he included people they really only served as a surface for light to play on Renoir was more concerned with the how the light played on human forms. People served more of a purpose in his paintings than in Monet's.

Early Financial Difficulty These early days were ones of financial hardship for both Renoir and Monet. Neither had cash to spend for paint or canvas. Bazille who had a small private income helped them out and kept them going. In the late 1870's through Monet, Renoir met Paul Durand-Ruel the first art dealer to support the Impressionists. Renoir also made money from painting portraits and became a well known society painter.

Mme Charpentier and her Children (1878)

Renoir's Style Renoir enjoyed painting landscapes but he was always more interested in people. Throughout his life he included his friends and lovers in his pictures.Some of their faces are distinctively 'Renoir' with almond shaped eyes and luxuriant hair but what he looked for especially in a model was 'an air of serenity' and good skin that 'took the light'

The Swing (1876)

Renoir painted this picture out of doors, in the shady garden of his studio in Montmartre. He used bright blue for the shadows and yellow and pink for the pools of dappled sunlight. By contrasting cool and warm colours he was able to suggest the brilliance of a sunny day

Renoir ‘The Ball at the Moulin de la Gallette’ 1876 (52 in —69 in)

Link to video https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/becoming-modern/avant-garde-france/impressionism/v/renoir-moulin-de-la-galette-1876

Technique/Brushwork/Use of Paint Renoir uses soft feathery brushstrokes of unblended colour in Ball at the Moulin de la Galette. There is almost a 'soft focus' effect to the painted surface.This loose treatment gives the impression of movement. In the foreground he paints the details in a more defined and smoother way. As the painting recedes the brushstrokes become looser and the figures are less defined.

This is a scene from the foreground This is a scene from the foreground. You can see Renoir painted details such as eyelids and lashes as well as earrings and necklace details

In the middle-ground Renoir begins to paint in broader strokes where details become lost the eyes are reduced to being slits, the hands of the woman are painted so loosely the individual fingers are obliterated.

In the background Renoir works very loosely depicting individual figures with just a few brush stokes. We can make out the shapes of hats and dresses but very little else of details. There are barely faces to be seen and no features on the faces

Colour: Light and vivid colour, no black, strong use of complementaries.This with the absence of outlines are all traditional Impressionist techniques Composition: Renoir employs a diagonal composition by slicing the painting diagonally through the bottom right of the format. The scene is 'snapshot' composition (scene continues beyond the frame), capturing a fleeting moment of Parisian social life. Renoir uses dappled light passing through the trees to unite the figures with their surroundings