Impressionism Renoir paintings. Posters, reproductions of paintings by famous artists in high resolution, good quality, clipart and large-sized photographs for downloading

Pierre Auguste Renoir (French Pierre-Auguste Renoir; February 25, 1841, Limoges - December 2, 1919, Cagnes-sur-Mer) - French painter, graphic artist and sculptor, one of the main representatives of impressionism. Renoir is known primarily as a master of secular portraiture, not devoid of sentimentality; he was the first of the impressionists to gain success among wealthy Parisians. In the mid-1880s. actually broke with impressionism, returning to the linearity of classicism, to Engrism. Father of the famous director.

Auguste Renoir was born on February 25, 1841 in Limoges, a city located in south-central France. Renoir was the sixth child of a poor tailor named Léonard and his wife, Marguerite.
In 1844, the Renoirs moved to Paris, and here Auguste entered the church choir at the great Saint-Estache Cathedral. He had such a voice that the choir director, Charles Gounod, tried to convince the boy’s parents to send him to study music. However, in addition to this, Auguste showed a gift as an artist, and when he was 13 years old, he began to help the family by getting a job with a master, from whom he learned to paint porcelain plates and other dishes. In the evenings, Auguste attended painting school.

"Dance at Bougival" (1883), Boston Museum fine arts

In 1865, at the house of his friend, artist Jules Le Coeur, he met a 16-year-old girl, Lisa Treo, who soon became Renoir's lover and his favorite model. In 1870, their daughter Jeanne Marguerite was born, although Renoir refused to officially acknowledge his paternity. Their relationship continued until 1872, when Lisa left Renoir and married someone else.
Renoir's creative career was interrupted in 1870-1871, when he was drafted into the army during the Franco-Prussian War, which ended in a crushing defeat for France.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Alina Charigot, 1885, Museum of Art, Philadelphia

In 1890, Renoir married Alina Charigot, whom he had met ten years earlier, when she was a 21-year-old seamstress. They already had a son, Pierre, born in 1885, and after their marriage they had two more sons - Jean, born in 1894, and Claude (known as "Coco"), born in 1901 and who became one of the most beloved models father.

By the time his family finally formed, Renoir had achieved success and fame, was recognized as one of the leading artists in France and managed to receive from the state the title of Knight of the Legion of Honor.

Personal happiness and professional success Renoir's works were marred by illness. In 1897, Renoir broke right hand, falling off a bicycle. As a result, he developed rheumatism, from which he suffered for the rest of his life. Rheumatism made it difficult for Renoir to live in Paris, and in 1903 the Renoir family moved to an estate called “Colette” in the small town of Cagnes-sur-Mer.
After an attack of paralysis that occurred in 1912, despite two surgical operations, Renoir was chained to wheelchair, however, he continued to write with a brush that the nurse placed between his fingers.

IN last years During his lifetime, Renoir gained fame and universal recognition. In 1917, when his Umbrellas were exhibited at the London National Gallery, hundreds of British artists and art lovers sent him congratulations, saying: “From the moment your picture was hung alongside the works of the Old Masters, we experienced the joy that our contemporary took his rightful place in European painting" Renoir's painting was also exhibited at the Louvre, and in August 1919 the artist last time visited Paris to look at her.

On December 3, 1919, Pierre Auguste Renoir died in Cagnes-sur-Mer from pneumonia at the age of 78. He was buried in Essois.

Marie-Félix Hippolyte-Lucas (1854-1925) - portrait of Renoir 1919

1862—1873 Choice of genres

"Spring Bouquet" (1866). Harvard University Museum.

At the beginning of 1862, Renoir passed the exams at the School of Fine Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts and enrolled in Gleyre's workshop. There he met Fantin-Latour, Sisley, Basil and Claude Monet. Soon they became friends with Cezanne and Pizarro, and this is how the core formed future group impressionists.
IN early years Renoir was influenced by the works of the Barbizons, Corot, Prudhon, Delacroix and Courbet.
In 1864, Gleyre closed his workshop and his studies ended. Renoir began to paint his first canvases and then for the first time presented the painting “Esmeralda dancing among the tramps” to the Salon. It was accepted, but when the canvas was returned to him, the author destroyed it.
Having chosen genres for his works in those years, he did not change them until the end of his life. This is a landscape - “Jules le Coeur in the forest of Fontainebleau” (1866), everyday scenes - “Splashing Pool” (1869), “Pont Neuf” (1872), a still life - “Spring Bouquet” (1866), “Still Life with a Bouquet and a Fan” (1871), portrait - “Lisa with an umbrella” (1867), “Odalisque” (1870), nude - “Diana the Huntress” (1867).
In 1872, Renoir and his friends created the Anonymous Cooperative Partnership.

1874—1882 Struggle for recognition

"Bal at the Moulin de la Galette" (1876). Orsay Museum.

The first exhibition of the partnership opened on April 15, 1874. Renoir presented pastels and six paintings, including “Dancer” and “Lodge” (both 1874). The exhibition ended in failure, and the members of the partnership received an insulting nickname - “Impressionists”.
Despite poverty, it was during these years that the artist created his main masterpieces: “Grand Boulevards” (1875), “Walk” (1875), “Ball at the Moulin de la Galette” (1876), “Nude” (1876), “Nude” V sunlight"(1876), "Swing" (1876), "First departure" (1876/1877), "Path in the tall grass" (1877).
Renoir gradually stopped participating in impressionist exhibitions. In 1879, he presented to the Salon the full-figure “Portrait of the Actress Jeanne Samary” (1878) and “Portrait of Madame Charpentier with Children” (1878) and achieved universal recognition, and subsequently financial independence. He continued to paint new canvases - in particular, the now famous Boulevard of Clichy (1880), Luncheon of the Rowers (1881), and On the Terrace (1881).

1883-1890 "Ingres period"

"Great Bathers" (1884-1887). Museum of Art, Philadelphia.

Renoir visited Algeria, then Italy, where he became closely acquainted with the works of the classics of the Renaissance, after which his artistic taste changed. Renoir painted a series of paintings “Dance in the Country” (1882/1883), “Dance in the City” (1883), “Dance in Bougival” (1883), as well as such paintings as “In the Garden” (1885) and “Umbrellas” (1881/1886), where the impressionist past is still visible, but appears new approach Renoir to painting.
The so-called “Ingres period” opens. Most famous work of this period - “Great Bathers” (1884/1887). For the first time, the author used sketches and outlines to construct the composition. The lines of the drawing became clear and defined. The colors lost their former brightness and saturation, the painting as a whole began to look more restrained and colder.

1891-1902 “Mother of Pearl Period”

"Girls at the Piano" (1892). Orsay Museum.

In 1892, Durand-Ruel opened a large exhibition of paintings by Renoir, which was held from great success. Recognition also came from government officials - the painting “Girls at the Piano” (1892) was purchased for the Luxembourg Museum.
Renoir traveled to Spain, where he became acquainted with the works of Velazquez and Goya.
In the early 90s, new changes took place in Renoir's art. An iridescence of color appeared in the pictorial manner, which is why this period is sometimes called “mother-of-pearl.”
At this time, Renoir painted such paintings as “Apples and Flowers” ​​(1895/1896), “Spring” (1897), “Son Jean” (1900), “Portrait of Madame Gaston Bernheim” (1901). He traveled to the Netherlands, where he was interested in the paintings of Vermeer and Rembrandt.

1903-1919 "Red Period"

"Gabriel in a Red Blouse" (1910). Collection of M. Wertham, New York.

The “pearl” period gave way to the “red” period, so named because of the preference for shades of reddish and pink flowers.
Renoir continued to paint sunny landscapes, still lifes with bright flowers, portraits of his children, naked women, created “A Walk” (1906), “Portrait of Ambroise Vollard” (1908), “Gabriel in a Red Blouse” (1910), “Bouquet of Roses” "(1909/1913), "Woman with a mandolin" (1919).

In the movie "Amelie" the neighbor main character Ramon Dufael has been making copies of Renoir's Luncheon of the Rowers for 10 years.
A close friend of Auguste Renoir was Henri Matisse, who was almost 28 years younger than him. When A. Renoir was essentially bedridden due to illness, A. Matisse visited him every day. Renoir, almost paralyzed by arthritis, overcoming the pain, continued to paint in his studio. One day, observing the pain with which each brush stroke was given to him, Matisse could not stand it and asked: “Auguste, why don’t you leave painting, you’re suffering so much?” Renoir limited himself to answering: “La douleur passe, la beauté reste” (The pain passes, but beauty remains). And this was the whole of Renoir, who worked until his last breath.

There is a lot to dislike about Renoir. Too many nudes female figures, who recline on elaborate sofas like giant chickens ready to be plucked. They are often too sugary to deeply touch our imagination. Its color effects may seem too sentimental and smooth.

And when Renoir painted landscapes (which he did much less often), he often and willingly leaned towards the coloring expected for him. In short, you can immediately identify the comfortable and familiar Renoir while walking around the Orsay Museum.

For example, here:

Artist’s paintings – “Railway Bridge in Shatu”

Or here:

Paintings of the artist - “Banks of the Seine at Champrossey”

But not in Algerian landscapes.

The artist’s paintings are “Algerian landscape. Savage Ravine"

Renoir took a trip to Algeria (a French colony in northern Africa) in 1881 and he was the only Impressionist to do so. He made a second trip to next year- but noticeably shorter than the first. A short immersion in Algerian life was quite enough. Oriental motifs were of little interest to other impressionists - for many of them, the French hinterland was “deep enough.” What Renoir saw in Algeria turned out to be very unusual. The bright, fiery colors of the wild, unruly and often unkempt nature took him by surprise. And the artist changed his usual style.

We see a ravine (gorge) in rural areas not far from the capital of Algiers is a wild and untamed desert area covered with bushes, flowers, trees and grass. The title of the painting apparently hints at some spicy incident that happened somewhere here, but we do not see any hint on the canvas.

It is impossible to determine exactly from what distance Renoir looked at this area - it seems that everything is next to us and directly in front of us without any intermediate stages. However, if you look more closely, the far part of the ravine is lost in the haze and stretches the image. We feel both impressions almost simultaneously. It’s as if Renoir’s eye swallowed whole this entire curvature and sweep of the landscape, the delightful visual abundance of lines up, down and across.

It's all a little like hair that flutters in a wild, unruly wind in all directions at once - pulsating, wavering back and forth, ever changing and fickle.

Our eye does not immediately begin to move across the picture in a certain direction. Our gaze immediately stumbles upon another obstacle and automatically returns back. Our visual walk across the surface of the painting resembles a roller coaster - stormy, bumpy, invigorating and exciting. Nothing happens for a long time and constantly in this picture. The style is more reminiscent of early Fauvism than impressionism.

The picture consists of huge amount roughness and unevenness. Look, for example, at those menacing aloe thorns in the foreground - and then immediately smoothness and smoothness, although not for long.

We also see how many, many individual brush strokes the artist made. It seems that Renoir is no longer doing this in order to capture the effect of light - this would be quite in the spirit of impressionism, but rather to cope with the huge mass of leaves that the artist’s eye noticed.

Artist’s paintings – “Banana fields”

Artist’s paintings – “Path in the Tall Grass”

This is one of Renoir's most recognizable landscapes. Path in tall grass- result collaboration plein air with Claude Monet. Here Renoir uses the same motif as Monet in Makah in the Argenteuil area: a meadow full of greenery and a woman with a boy.

Just like Monet, Renoir repeats this pairing in the background. However, his figures are more expressive; they, and not the poppies, are the central characters.

Renoir paints this picture with small strokes, as is customary with the Impressionists. But this manner was not organic for him. As he admitted, it made it possible to “make a more gentle transition from one key to another, but this technique gives a rough texture... I can’t stand it. I like to stroke the painting with my hand.”

(the text uses materials from the article Michael Glover - Algerian Landscape. INPEDENDANT, March 2011 and the book by A. Kiselev “Impressionist Landscapes”, Series “Great Canvases”)

On December 3, 1919, the French painter, one of the main representatives of impressionism, Auguste Renoir, passed away. His paintings had big success from the Parisians. We decided to remember the most famous paintings Renoir.

"Paddling pool"

Auguste Renoir painted this painting in 1869. It is stored in national museum Sweden, in Stockholm. “The Paddling Pool” is a café on the water, located on a pontoon moored to the bank of the Seine, which stood in a small branch of the river and was connected to the island by a transition bridge thrown across tiny island Girls of easy virtue, the so-called “frogs”, gathered here, who came here accompanied by petty hooligans and crooks from the suburbs. This painting can be called impressionistic in the full sense of the word. It has everything character traits movements: study of water and highlights, colored shadows, transparency, flickering of color, division of strokes, use of a light palette limited to three basic and three additional colors. Claude Monet has a similar painting. It is also called “The Paddling Pool”. During that period, Renoir and Monet worked side by side, using identical subjects, and in styles very close to each other.

"Swing"

Auguste Renoir painted this painting for the third exhibition of the Impressionists in 1877. The artist depicted a corner of one of the Parisian gardens. girl in white and blue dress, decorated with many bows, flirting with two young men in straw boaters, stood on the board of a swing suspended under a tree. This motif of balancing equilibrium, mobile immobility can be considered as a metaphor for impressionistic paintings in general. After all, the main thing in it is variability, movement, and at the same time, the impressionist artist always captures the moment of a certain staticity, balance of forms. He painted the woman swinging on a swing, apparently, from Marguerite Legrand, a model whom he met in 1875, and who also posed for the painting “Ball at the Moulin de la Galette.” Since 1877, the painting “Swing” was in the collection of the French marchand and artist Gustave Caillebotte. In 1986, the painting was transferred to the Musée d'Orsay, where it remains to this day.

"Ball at the Moulin de la Galette"

Auguste Renoir painted this painting in 1876. It is considered not only the main work in the artist’s work, but also the most expensive. At Sotheby's auction in New York in 1990, it was sold for $78 million and is still among the most expensive paintings ever sold at auction. Pierre Auguste Renoir is "the only great artist“who has not painted a single sad picture in his life,” said the writer Octave Mirbeau in 1913. "Ball at the Moulin de la Galette" - the most shining example"solar" art of the painter. Auguste Renoir lived in the Parisian district of Montmartre. And he found the plot of his painting there in the restaurant of the same name “Moulin de la Galette”. The artist's acquaintances and friends are depicted on the frame. The painting is in the Orsay Museum in Paris.

"Portrait of the actress Jeanne Samary"

On this canvas, Renoir painted a portrait of a young actress of the Comedie Française theater. Painting from 1877. Stored in Moscow, in Pushkin Museum. Renoir painted four portraits of Jeanne Samary, each of which is significantly different from the others in size, composition, and color. Before her marriage, Jeanne Samary lived not far from Renoir’s studio on Rue Frochot and often came to sit with him. This portrait is called one of the most impressionistic portraits in all of Renoir's work. IN last picture Zhanna Samary is presented in full height in great evening dress with a huge train, a deep neckline and bare arms, covered almost to the elbows with white gloves. Renoir painted Jeanne Samary as a striking beauty. Renoir managed to convey in the expression of her face that attractive playfulness, mischief and spontaneity of expression of thoughts and feelings that were characteristic of her mental appearance and her stage talent.

"The Rowers' Breakfast"

This picture turned out to be a milestone in Renoir's work. At this time, in 1880 - 1881, the artist made his first long journeys to Algeria and Italy, summing up his creative activity and already in Italy he is disappointed in some things, but wants to actively change something in his art. A period of new searches, new doubts, a new pictorial manner is coming. “The Rowers' Breakfast” seemed to be at the center of his creative and life path. The painting was painted at the Fournaise restaurant in Paris. In fact, this is a group portrait of a meeting of friends. Again, Renoir painted portraits of his real friends. In February 1881, the painting was bought from Renoir by the famous marchand Paul Durand-Ruel for 15,000 francs, which was a fairly high price for that time. After his death, Durand-Ruel's sons sold the painting for $125,000 to the famous American collector Duncan Phillips. Since 1930, this collection has moved to a building in the Dupont Circle area of ​​Washington, which has since been used as Art Museum- Phillips Collection.

"Umbrellas"

This painting was started in 1880-1881 and completed in 1885-1886. Renoir began painting as a “pure” impressionist, but soon began to experience disappointment in this style. The painter was influenced strong influence impressions from a trip to Italy, as a result of which he turned to older artistic methods. A clear outline of the figures appeared in the picture. Noisy crowded Parisian street. Rain. Lots of umbrellas. An original idea: to convey the bustle and at the same time purely Parisian charm and charm through the cluster and crush of... umbrellas. The picture embodies the ideal of the aspirations of two arts - painting and photography: from the first - spirituality of perception, from the latter - “instantness” (the artist even cuts off the figures at the edges, as happens in photographs). This technique was popular among the impressionists of that time. The painting “Umbrellas” is kept in national gallery in London .

Auguste Renoir once compared himself to a cork being carried along the waves. This is exactly how he felt while creating his next work. With alluring passion and tenderness, he completely surrendered to the raging “waves” that carried him across the unshakable expanses art world. Under such inspiration, Renoir's paintings were always born with a special charm. They never cluttered the thoughts of their viewers. On the contrary, looking at the works of the French author, fans of his talent could finally simply enjoy the rich shades, correct forms and subjects of paintings that are close to oneself. Indeed, Auguste Renoir did not see himself among shocking works or deep philosophical paintings. Looking at Renoir’s paintings, we can say with confidence that the author simply gave people a piece of beauty and uniqueness. And perhaps it is precisely these simple joys, reflected in the author’s works, that fans of painting still enjoy so much. The artist did not like tragic, heroic or dramatic subjects. This has always been enough in the everyday life of people, which is why the works of Auguste Renoir clearly depict beautiful landscapes, the sparkling smiles of children, alluring bouquets of fragrant flowers and the unique lines and shapes of plump, naked women. The French painter was convinced that any work should please with its attractiveness, cheerful and pleasant mood, and boring life stories should remain in the background. Well, Renoir successfully carried this idea through all his works. Each canvas, thanks to its bright and rich tones, gives a unique feeling of falling in love, falling in love with the world, people and the French author himself.

The pain goes away, but the beauty remains

The title contains the words of the great French artist Pierre Auguste Renoir. This is another follower of the impressionist movement, although he did not write in this direction for long. But this was enough to write him into the annals of the great Frenchmen. He is an amazing artist, with a great sense of space, light and color, which is important for any artist. In addition, he was a graphic artist and sculptor. And just like everyone else, he worked tirelessly, his legacy is enormous. But how did it work? This is worth talking about.

In fact, since childhood, Renoir was destined to become an excellent singer; he had an excellent voice. But Auguste sang, but still he was more attracted to his ability to draw. And so, to help his family, he gets a job in a workshop for painting porcelain plates, but in the evenings he always attended a painting school. Then he began to grow and, as he grew older, he became more and more famous in the line of creativity. As an adult, he got married and had children. His work was appreciated quite well, and he worked constantly. But all this idyll was crossed out by one fall from a bicycle. Falling from it, Auguste broke his right arm. It would seem like an ordinary injury from a fall, but it was precisely this that served as the impetus for the emergence of more terrible disease– rheumatism. And he practically had no time for creativity anymore. it seemed so to many, but not to himself. Overcoming the pain, he continued to work on his canvases. He no longer lived in Paris, his family moved to the provinces, and he began to work there. But soon something even more terrible happened - an attack of paralysis. And now, if before he could barely walk, now he was simply chained to a chair or to a bed.

His art has long been painted by everyone famous critics and art historians. And his work is conventionally divided into three periods: Ingres (“sour”, as the artist himself called it), mother-of-pearl (during this period he painted canvases under the impression of Velazquez, Rembrandt and Vermeer; this period was distinguished by iridescent colors) and finally, the red period ( almost all paintings from this period are red or pink). What is most interesting is that all the paintings painted in these three periods are completely different genres, really different and therefore constantly arouses interest.

Henri Matisse, famous French artist was very friendly with Renoir and visited him almost every day. Every day he saw how Auguste, overcoming pain, painted his canvases. He almost constantly winced in pain and even cried, but still drew. While he could still walk and was in more or less normal condition, he was awarded the Order of the Legion of Honor, this is the highest award of the French state. But now he was not able to hold a brush well in his hands and still created. The words in the title were spoken in response to Matisse’s question: “Why do you need all this? Stop creativity, it’s hard for you.” Renoir could not answer otherwise. Every morning the nurse put a brush into his frozen hands and moved him to the canvas, and he painted. For many, this is a feat, for some it seems like window dressing, but for Renoir it was a way to survive, or rather to live. The painting "Umbrellas", which he created in 1917, was honored by its appearance in the Louvre. And the artist was able to see this; he was still walking then. But the great artist died not from rheumatism at all, but from pneumonia, which he accidentally caught.

For enough great life he managed to create a large number of paintings, sculptures. And all this is now exhibited not only in the Louvre, but also in others no less famous museums peace.

Alexey Vasin

Pierre-Auguste Renoir is considered one of the leading figures in impressionism. Over the course of his time, he created more than a thousand paintings. The artist was so devoted to painting that even while confined to a wheelchair, he painted with a brush tied to his hand.

Renoir might not have become an artist. As a boy, he sang in a church choir, and the teacher seriously insisted that he be sent to study music. However, when the parents noticed how beautifully their son drew with charcoal on the walls, they sent him as an apprentice. He painted porcelain in Mr. Levy's workshop.

13-year-old Renoir worked incredibly quickly and efficiently. The owner of the workshop did not know whether to be happy or upset. “Boy! And he makes so much money!”- he sighed. Mister Levy lowered the rate young talent and transferred him to piecework payment, but still Pierre Auguste worked at such a speed that he soon earned so much money that it was enough to buy a house for his parents.

When Auguste Renoir found himself in the house of Richard Wagner, he was able to paint a portrait of the famous composer in just 35 minutes.

Despite the fact that Renoir’s work is classified as impressionism, the artist did not force himself into the clear framework of any particular style. He experimented. After studying Renaissance painting, the artist's style of work was influenced by the paintings of Raphael and other masters of that era. This period of his work is called “Ingres” (derived from the name of the leader of European academicism of the 19th century, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres).

Art historians define the last 10 years of the 19th century as Renoir’s “mother-of-pearl” period. It was then that the painter actively experimented with color transitions, while maintaining his individual style. His paintings are filled with a peculiar play of light and a special charm.

In 1897, the artist had an unfortunate fall from his bicycle, breaking his arm. Against this background, he developed rheumatism. Another 13 years later, Renoir suffered an attack of paralysis, which confined him to a wheelchair. But the desire to create paintings helped the artist live. He asked the maid to tie the brush to his hand and continued to create.

Fame and universal recognition came to Renoir only in the last years of his life. When the painting “Umbrellas” was exhibited at the London National Gallery in 1917, the artist began to receive hundreds of letters. People who saw his painting congratulated Renoir on his success: “From the moment your painting was hung alongside the works of the old masters, we felt the joy that our contemporary had taken his rightful place in European painting.”

In 1919, a few months before his death, the already paralyzed Renoir arrived at the Louvre only to see his painting in the art museum.

Renoir continues to make headlines even in the 21st century. In 2009, a woman bought a painting at a flea market for $7. Later it turned out that “Landscape on the banks of the Seine” belongs to the brush of Renoir and is estimated at between 75 and 100 thousand US dollars.

Not only the painting by Auguste Renoir, but also other works of art, ironically, ended up at flea markets. These