Born February 25, 1841 in Limoges, France, Pierre Auguste Renoir, was the son of working class parents, who was apprenticed to a porcelain painter and started painting flowers on china at age thirteen. He later studied at the studio of Charles Gleyre, where he met future impressionists Claude Monet, Alfred Sisley and Frederick Bazille and then attended Ecole des Beaux-Arts. He first exhibited at t
...see more »he Paris Salon in 1867 with a plein air painting.
He and Monet became leaders in the expressionist movement and by the 1870s he had perfected his technique capturing the changing effect of light and color while mastering facial expressions. He became a master of combining still life, portraiture, and landscape into the impressionist genre. His first solo exhibition was held at the Durand-Ruel Gallery in 1883 and by 1900 Renoir was an established artist. He was awarded the Legion d’honneur by France in 1900.
Renoir became interested in the classical arts and female nudes during the 1880s, completing a series known as The Bathers in 1887 that shows his ability to depict the soft texture of skin while showing it as a symbol of feminine grace. He moved around frequently looking for new locations to paint during the 1890s: from Normandy, Brittany and Champagne in France to Madrid, Amsterdam and London. He bought property in the south of France in 1907. Known for his luminous paintings, in later years he tried his hand at sculpture.
In 1902 he began to suffer from arthritis and stayed frequently in the south of France for his health, but by 1912 Renoir is confined to a wheelchair where he continues to paint with a brush strapped to his arm. Renoir died December 3, 1919 at his home in Cagnes, France. His paintings and sculptures live on in galleries and museums, at his former home that is now a museum and at retailers worldwide.
During the 1989-1990 period, four Renoir works of art sold for over $10 million each. In 1990, “Au Moulin de la Galette” (1876) sold for $71 million. Recent prices include: “La liseuse” (1877) which sold for $10 million+ in 1989 and $12 million when sold again in 2001; also “Femmes dans un jardin” (1873) was sold for over $8 million in 2006.« see less
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