Pierre-Auguste Renoir 1841-1919 [antikvár]

Renoir's Family, Friends and Teachers 1841-1867 When we look at one of the great collections of nineteenth century French paintings and finally reach Pierre Auguste Renoir; we may feel touched by a certain festive cheerfulness which surpasses that of any of his predecessors. Art as something uplifting, a feast for the eye - this is how we can describe both the greatness and also the limitations of his art. Renoir had almost 60 years of active life as an artist, during which he is said to have painted about 6 000 pictures. With the exception of Picasso, this was undoubtedly the most prolific achievement of any painter; and his best pictures now sell for over a million pounds. Born in Limoges on 25 February 1841, Renoir came from a rather narrow middle-class background. His father was a tailor. And when he decided to embark upon the dubious career of an artist, he had no idea how famous he would become. Renoir's father Léonard was by no means a rich man, and his craft did not bring in a lot of wealth, neither in Limoges nor in Paris, where his family moved in 1845, hoping for better prospects. At that time Paris was the capital of one of the leading world powers. Unlike the surrounding nations, France had been able to prepare her unification as early as the Middle Ages. The whole country was completely centralized, both economically and politically, with Paris as its heart and crowning glory. People were able to look back on several centuries of glorious history. The bourgeoisie had achieved control of political affairs in a series of great revolutionary power struggles. It had borne on its shoulders that little Corsican officer Napoleon Bonaparte, who had ruled over the whole of Europe. The glamour of those times could still be felt, long after the success of his conquests had been blown to bits and broken by the other European nations' desire for freedom. When, as a result of the third bourgeois revolution of 1848, Louis Bonaparte acquired the title of French Emperor and took his place as Napoleon the Third among the European potentates, he was able to do so on the strength of his uncle's fame. Art played an extremely important part during the Second Empire. A rich body of literature had developed, which included works by authors of more popular appeal as well as a number of sensitive poets. There were sharp-witted realists who wrote descriptions of contemporary life, and there were more critical writers like Gustave Flaubert and the young Emile Zola. The theatres were full of audiences who really appreciated the plays of Victorien Sardou and Alexandre Dumas jr. Operettas by Jacques Offenbach, concerts, operas and ballets provided a rich harvest of artistic delight for the eyes and ears of the "If I imagine 1 might have been born among intellectuals! It would have taken me years to get rid of the prejudices and to see things as they really are. And I might have got clumsy hands." pierre-auguste renoir Little Miss Romaine Lacaux, 1864 Oil on canvas, 81x65 cm Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland