Auguste Renoir
Born in Limoges in 1841, the artist became acquainted with Monet and Sisley after training to be a porcelain painter. He intuitively joined the Impressionists, without complying with their theoretical dictates. In contrast to his painter friends, Renoir found the subjects for his pictures in the city life of Paris instead of out in the countryside.
Although his early works are still characterized by rigid contours, the outlines of his figures dispersed impressionistically around the year 1865. Middleclass life and the representation of the female figure held the most attraction for the artist. Renoir’s untiring creative urge remained unbroken up until the time of his death in 1919. Today, the work of this great artist is still filled with grace and radiant luminosity.
