Pierre-Auguste Renoir, like the painters of his time, was known at the end of his career and had earned money. He was always humble about his art, his nose was not an artist in the air. For him, art was to paint what he found attractive and exciting. On his own will, he was not interested in thinking to express any idea or emotion. Although critics of his time found his works light and insignificant, the public, on the contrary, considered it accessible and enjoyable.
Renoir was born on February 25, 1841 in Limoges, France. Shortly after his mother and father, Pierre Auguste, was born, they moved to the Louvre area. The artist was the family’s second small child, with his brothers, five brothers in total. It was not easy to get along with tailoring in the heart of Paris, their houses were very small. When her older brothers Henri and Victor got a job and moved out of the house, the tightness in the house gradually decreased.
At the age of thirteen, he entered as an apprentice next to a porcelain painter who decorated vases and plates. The family directed all their children to artistic affairs, his older brother Henri was engaged in the engraving profession so that he could bring money home. In 1862, when he was only twenty one, he was accepted to Ecole des Beaux-Arts for art education. In this way, he took a step towards art life. Here he became a student of Charles Gleyre. Her art life began in Gleyre’s workshop, but continued with admiration for artists such as Eugene Delacroix, the well-known name of the romance movement, and realist artist Gustave Courbet.
We can understand his admiration for these artists from some of his works. Especially the Woman of Algiers painting was influenced by the same themed work of Delacroix. However, emulation to the East was very common in the art of that period.
Above we see Delacroix’s Women of Algiers. There are certain differences between the two works. In this work, Delacroix has integrated his imagination with exotic representations of the East. Renoir, on the other hand, portrayed a sensual pose that brought a sense of lust and a figure in direct contact with the audience. Figure wears clothes specific to the East. The artist’s model is a nineteen-year-old high school student girlfriend.
The artist’s painter career developed with the impressionist painters he was a term friend at the Academy. Monet, Bazille and Sisley were friends she worked with. Renoir’s Esmeralda Dancing with a Goat painting was accepted into the Paris Hall exhibition in 1864. But there is no record of this painting, the artist is said to dislike and destroy the painting. Paris Hall is a hall where realist and impressionist works are constantly rejected. However, its acceptance says a lot about the painting.
Country Footpath in the Summer is very similar to Monet’s The Poppy Field near Argenteuil. The artist, who has proved his commitment to impressionism many times, has shown us this in his work. In the Impressionists exhibition held in the gallery of Durand-Ruel in 1876, the artist’s fifteen works were exhibited and six paintings were sold.
In the late 1870s, the artist stopped participating in exhibitions with impressionists. He decided to follow his individual route. The style used in The Luncheon of the Boating Party is more precise than Le Moulin de la Galette, which he made five years ago. The figures are stronger and their color usage is clearer. For the figures in this painting, the artist worked with his friends who came to the studio. He used them as models. The venue is Restaurant Fournaise, which the artist frequently visits and enjoys spending time.
His trip to Italy, where the master painter started in 1881, was a turning point for his art. Upon his return, he admitted that impressionism was a stalemate and he had to look for a new style. The artist’s search for a new style in the 1880s is known today as his “Dry Period”. The Umbrellas painting clearly shows the changes in the master painter’s approach to painting after the 1880s. The artist has not been able to complete this painting for years, has repeatedly worked on it. Bright colors, soft lines and light brush strokes in the figures on the right remind us of Renoir’s impressionist approach. However, the two figures on the left are a new style with clearer lines and suppressed colors.
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