1. Pierre Auguste Renoir Challenges to Existing Norms Relevance Today
Challenged the artistic conventions of the Salon.
Challenged gender roles in society
- Women are not confined to domestic
- Embraced women’s love for reading, and music which were considered to be masculine
Challenged social conventions of femininity.
- Women’s form was to be celebrated, and their minds were to be welcomed.
- Women can take the lead and prioritize their own wants.
- Reading Couple: She is unconcerned with her male suitor who might be looking at them and are instead consumed by their own desire to learn and embrace literature.
- Boating on the Seine: Renoir suggests that these women are independent and strong enough to row themselves and do no need men to enjoy the scene. 
Black = Renoir’s values, Purple = Today’s values
R: Portrayed women as respectable intellectuals.
T: Women are respected by most people (theoretically).
R: Painting featured women reading, playing instruments, and going to the theatre, which were male activities.
T: Female education is a broadly accepted concept.
R: Women that he portrayed weren’t all the same body type. He portrayed women of all sizes.
T: Females strive for equality today. Not all women look the same, and that there is different types of beauty.
R: Didn’t try to change how his female models appeared, he wanted to celebrate women the way they were.
T: Big stigma around eating disorders and unhealthy body images
T: Image of beauty is distorted
T: In Europe models must weigh a certain amount in order to continue their profession.
Works Cited
"Auguste Renoir (1841–1919)." The Mett's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Accessed May 30,
"Biography of Auguste Renoir." Impressionism. Accessed May 30,
Capps, Kriston. "Why Absolutely Everyone Hates Renoir." The Atlantic. October 13, Accessed May 30,
"Impressionism." The Art Story: Modern Art Insight. Accessed May 30,
"Impressionism: The Innovations and Influence." Web Exhibits. Accessed May 30,
Jones, Jonathan. "To All You Renoir Haters: He Does Not 'suck at Painting'" The Guardian. October 07, Accessed May 30,
"Renoir: Liberating Women." Literary Ramblings. June 14, Accessed May 30,