1. Pierre Auguste Renoir 1841-1919
Our artist for today is Pierre Auguste Renoir. He was born about 170 years ago in Limoges, France. He was one of seven children in the Renoir family.
Pierre Auguste Renoir

2. You can see on the map that Limoges is close to Paris
You can see on the map that Limoges is close to Paris. When Renoir was four, his family moved to Paris and lived in an apartment very near to the Royal Palace and to the famous art museum called the Louvre. His playground was the courtyard of the Royal Palace, and he saw the queen quite often as he played his favorite game, cops and robbers! When he wasn’t playing, he sang in a church choir (and was an excellent singer), and also spent hours at the Louvre studying Europe’s best artists of the time.
Born in Limoges, France

3. At that time, it was very common to see aspiring artists set up their easels and practice painting by copying the artists whose paintings hung in the Louvre. This is what Renoir probably saw when he visited the Louvre.
(This sketch is by another famous artist, Winslow Homer, who came along much after Renoir.)

4. From the time Renoir was very little, his family knew he liked art
From the time Renoir was very little, his family knew he liked art. Renoir’s dad was a tailor in Paris, and he could hardly ever find the chalk he used to mark clothes for alterations, because Renoir was always taking it to draw pictures all over the tailor shop - including the walls and floors. This is a picture of antique tailor’s chalk from France, just like the chalk Renoir would have used. After seeing how good he was with just some old chalk, his parents knew Renoir was going to be a gifted artist. So they decided to get Renoir some art experience, and got him a job painting China.

5. This is not Renoir’s work, but it is from the same time period and same place. Renoir did this job until people invented machines that stamped out decorated China much more quickly and cheaply than the old-fashioned way of hand-painting, and Renoir’s company went out of business.

6. His next job was hand-painting fans for women
His next job was hand-painting fans for women. Again, this is not a Renoir fan, but it shows how elaborate these fans were at the time. The sticks were mother of pearl and the paintings were very intricate.

7. Later in his career, when he was an artist, he would go on to do several paintings that included fans…

8. At the age of 20, Renoir stopped working and started studying art
At the age of 20, Renoir stopped working and started studying art. He studied at the studio of a well-known artist at the time who taught traditional painting techniques, the kind everyone was used to and appreciated. Renoir was good at this type of painting, and didn’t even dislike painting this way. This painting “Lise with Sunshade” even made it into the Salon. This art show was the very important back then, and was the only way to “make it” as an artist. (explain traditional style required to make it into the show)

9. However, he was interested in new painting styles as well
However, he was interested in new painting styles as well. At school he met other artists, including Claude Monet, who flat-out disliked the Salon style of painting, and were working to create something new. This painting by Renoir, called “Mother Anthony’s Inn,” shows Renoir’s friends hanging out at restaurant by the same name. By the way, Renoir was still drawing on walls - the sketch behind the people is one Renoir actually made on the wall of the restaurant!

10. One day, Renoir and his friend Monet decided to paint some scenes outside instead of in a studio, like they’d been taught. They paid lots of attention to the way light and shadows affected the scene, and also to how light reflected off the water. This new style of painting, which tried to capture a moment in time, and the fun and feelings that went with that moment, came to be called “impressionism.” This painting from 1869 is one of the earliest examples of impressionism. See how the paint looks almost dabbed on instead of brushed on in long, even strokes? That’s how the impressionists made their scenes alive - almost like they were sparkling with light.

11. Monet and Renoir were pretty excited about their new style of painting and put together a show full of impressionist works, hoping everybody else would feel the same way. This is the painting Renoir showed. Unfortunately, it turned out that Monet, Renoir and their impressionist friends were pretty much the only ones excited about this new style. Most people thought the paintings were sloppy and may even be a joke.

12. Eventually, the new style did catch on and wealthy people began to hire Renoir to paint portraits. He enjoyed doing the posed portraits, but mostly wanted to paint larger outdoor scenes.

13. His favorite subjects were always people, and he loved to paint occasions filled with happiness and laughter. Renoir once said, "For me a picture has to be something pleasant, delightful, and pretty -- yes, pretty. There are enough unpleasant things in the world without us producing even more," he would say when anyone questioned his subject matter or technique. This is one of my favorite pictures, called “Luncheon of the Boating Party.”

14. Much later in his career, after impressionism finally became popular, Renoir decided to try something new. He still liked impressionism, but wanted to blend it with some of the more traditional techniques he had learned in school. This painting is interesting because it actually shows this transition all in one picture. Notice how the lady and two girls on the right are done in the Impressionist style with quick feathery brush strokes and delicate colors. The people on the left, and the umbrellas, are smoother and look more solid. The colors are not as bright and the outlines are more visible.

15. Renoir painted every day of his life
Renoir painted every day of his life. Even when he had rheumatoid arthritis so badly that he had to sit in a wheelchair and his son had to help place the paintbrushes into his hands, he still painted. He did over 6,000 paintings in his lifetime and was always very humble about it. He died at 78 years old and his last words were, “I think I’m Beginning to understand something about painting.”