Auguste Renoir

Renoir, Pierre Auguste

French, 1841 - 1919

French artist Auguste Renoir was one of the founding members of the impressionist movement. He is known for his soft, vividly colored landscapes and paintings of women. Renoir was born in Limoges, France, in 1841, and his family moved to Paris when he was a child.

Along with contemporaries such as Claude Monet and Edgar Degas, Renoir participated in the first impressionist exhibition in 1874. Though the exhibition was controversial, Renoir’s work was well received, and he was successful in the Parisian art world.

Among his notable works is the 1876 painting A Girl with a Watering Can, which demonstrates the painter’s light, delicate style. By 1878, Renoir had distanced himself from the impressionist movement. He developed a new artistic approach, drawing inspiration from classical and Renaissance art. Renoir died in 1919 at age 78.

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A young woman with pale, peachy skin and flushed cheeks sits facing our right in profile as she plays a guitar in this horizontal painting. The scene is painted with blended strokes, giving it a soft look and making some of the details indistinct. At the center of the composition, the guitar rests against the woman’s shoulder so it almost spans the width of the painting. The instrument has a caramel-brown body, and the dark brown neck lightens to slate gray by the sound hole. The woman’s eyes are lowered as she looks toward her left hand, her long fingers pinning the strings along the fretboard. She plucks the strings with her other hand. Her hair is covered in a red headscarf tied at the nape of her neck. One end rests on her left shoulder, farther from us, and the other hangs down her back. A low, flat-topped, black, brimmed hat sits atop the scarf. The woman’s features are delicate, and her pink lips are parted. She wears a gold chain with an oval pendant around her neck. Her jacket is gold with a pattern loosely painted with dabs of lapis blue, butter yellow, and rose pink. A yellow ribbon or band is tied to the neck of the guitar and slung over her shoulder. The indistinct space behind her is painted with strokes of moss green, goldenrod yellow, and a few swipes of marigold orange near her face. The artist signed and dated the painting in brown in the lower right corner: “Renoir.98.”
Auguste Renoir, Young Spanish Woman with a Guitar, 1898, oil on canvas, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection, 1970.17.76

Young Spanish Woman with a Guitar

Auguste Renoir · 1898 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1970.17.76

A young girl with pale skin and long brown hair looks at us as she braces a tall, wooden hoop with one hand by her hip in this vertical painting. The girl stands close to us with her body angled to our right, and she looks at us from the corners of her dark blue eyes. Her delicate nose, rosy cheeks, and closed, rose-pink lips are set in a heart-shaped face. She has wavy, chestnut-brown hair that falls loosely around her shoulders. Bangs brush across her forehead, and her hair is pulled back in half, tied in a pale blue ribbon. She wears a sky-blue dress with a ruffle around the wide collar. The long sleeves are rolled back over her wrists, and the dress is tied at the waist with an aquamarine-blue sash tied into a bow at her lower back. The knee-length skirt flares out from the waist. She wears ice-blue socks pulled halfway up her shins and black, low-heeled Mary Jane-style shoes tied with bows over the arches. One foot turns to rest on the bottom edge of the wooden hoop she braces with her left hand, farther from us. She holds a short stick by her side with the other hand. The ground around her is painted with blended areas of muted topaz blue, peach, and canary yellow. The top third of the background is a loosely painted garden, with lime and spring-green leaves, and a cluster of shell-pink flowers to our right. The artist signed and dated the painting in the lower left corner, “Renoir. 85.”
Auguste Renoir, Girl with a Hoop, 1885, oil on canvas, Chester Dale Collection, 1963.10.58

Girl with a Hoop

Auguste Renoir · 1885 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1963.10.58

Close to us, a woman and two men stand on a grassy riverbank looking out at the expanse of the river that nearly fills this horizontal landscape painting. A fourth person sits in a long, narrow canoe that angles from the riverbank near the lower left corner to our right, and it extends off the right edge of the canvas. The people all have pale, peachy skin. The man closest to us, to our right of the trio, wears a white hat and jacket and dark pants as he gazes across the river with his hands in his jacket pockets. The other man and woman, to our left, look toward us. The woman wears a royal-blue hat pulled low over her eyes. Her dress has a blue skirt, and her petal-pink corseted bodice is trimmed with white. The third standing person, along the left edge of the painting, wears blue and brown, and a straw-colored hat. The man in the boat wears a white long-sleeved shirt with a blue cravat at his neck, a crimson-red cummerbund at his waist, blue pants, and a brimmed, straw hat. He turns to look over his right shoulder, and he holds the end of a long oar in his right hand. The surface of the water is painted with short touches of vibrant blue paint. A sailboat, barge, and two other sculls float on the river between us and the far bank, which comes three-quarters of the way up the composition. A few white houses and buildings line the water amid tall grasses on the opposite bank on the right half of the painting. The blue sky is painted with long strokes in blue and white. The brushstrokes are loose throughout, creating a blurred, feathery texture.
Auguste Renoir, Oarsmen at Chatou, 1879, oil on canvas, Gift of Sam A. Lewisohn, 1951.5.2

Oarsmen at Chatou

Auguste Renoir · 1879 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1951.5.2

A pale-skinned young girl with blond hair, wearing a blue dress, stands in a garden in this vertical painting. The girl and background are painted with blended strokes, giving the scene and especially the girl a soft look. She faces our right and stands in the middle of the composition. Her shoulder-length cloud of hair is topped with a red bow, and long bangs frame her round face. Under faint brows, her sapphire-blue eyes look to our right. She has a petite nose, and her coral-pink mouth turns up in a slight smile. Her cobalt-blue dress is trimmed with wide, blue-white lace on the neckline, across the bottom hem, and down the front to either side of a row of white buttons. The white edges her petticoats come down to just below her knees, peeking out from under the flaring skirt. She wears white socks over blue ankle boots, which also have a row of white buttons down the side we can see. Her near hand is raised with her index finger hooked in the handle of a green watering can, and she holds two daisies by her side in her other hand. She stands on a path flecked with ivory white, pale purples, greens, and pink that curves up and to her left. A bush with emerald and pine-green leaves dotted with pink blooms fills the lower left corner. Behind her, green grass runs back to meet a profusion of pink, purple, and poppy-red plants and flowers that run along the top edge of the composition. The artist signed and dated the lower right, “Renoir. 76.”
Auguste Renoir, A Girl with a Watering Can, 1876, oil on canvas, Chester Dale Collection, 1963.10.206

A Girl with a Watering Can

Auguste Renoir · 1876 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1963.10.206

A young woman with peachy skin shaded with ice blue and pale, mint green is shown from the chest up wearing a low-cut, white garment in this vertical portrait painting. The painting is created with blended brushstrokes, giving it a soft, blurred effect. The woman’s body is angled to our left and she looks off in that direction with blue eyes, her head tipped a little toward us. She has a straight nose and full, rosy pink lips. Thick, blond bangs sweep across her forehead, and her hair is partially pulled back. She holds one long lock with her left hand, on our right, in front of her shoulder. One small gold ball earring adorns the ear we can see. Her low-cut, white garment falls off her shoulders and is belted with a blue sash at her waist. The background is made up of a field of royal and turquoise blue behind her head and shoulders, and rust brown behind her body. The artist signed and dated the work with dark paint in the lower left corner: “Renoir.76.”
Auguste Renoir, Young Woman Braiding Her Hair, 1876, oil on canvas, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection, 1970.17.63

Young Woman Braiding Her Hair

Auguste Renoir · 1876 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1970.17.63

Shown from about the waist up, a young woman wearing white sits in an armchair cuddling a brown and black striped cat in this vertical painting. The scene is painted with blended brushstrokes, giving it a soft look. The wall behind them is seafoam green, and the edge of a yellow floral curtain lines the left edge of the canvas. The woman’s body is angled to our right and she looks at the cat with dark eyes. The woman’s light brown hair is pulled up, and her pale skin is accentuated by rosy cheeks. Her bare arms enfold the cat, held upright against the left side of her body so its head rests against her cheek. She supports the cat’s upper body with her right hand, on which she wears an emerald ring. The cat’s lower body nestles into the crook of the woman’s left arm. Its paws are extended and its head pulled back. The white and blue tones of the woman’s short-sleeved dress and kerchief tied around her neck contrast against the muted burgundy-red of the armchair behind her. To our right, behind the woman, vibrant, loose brushstrokes in red, orange, green, violet, and white could be a floral arrangement.
Auguste Renoir, Woman with a Cat, c. 1875, oil on canvas, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin E. Levy, 1950.12.1

Woman with a Cat

Auguste Renoir · c. 1875 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1950.12.1

A pale-skinned girl wearing an arctic-blue ballet costume stands looking at us and almost fills this vertical painting. The scene is painted with blended strokes, giving it a soft, almost blurry look. In pale pink ballet slippers, she stands with her feet in fifth position, so the toes are turned out while her feet are almost parallel, the heel of the front foot touching the toes of the other. Her body faces our left, and she turns her head to look at us with blue eyes. She has delicate, dark brows, rosy cheeks, and full pink lips. Her long honey-brown hair is tied with a sky-blue ribbon like a headband. The fitted bodice of her pale blue dress has a lapis-blue bow at the chest, and the short sleeves tie around the sides of her shoulders. A sash around her middle is also lapis blue. The knee-length tutu has layers of light fabric, and seems to fly up behind her. She wears a black choker necklace and a black bracelet on each wrist. She holds a white object, perhaps a lacy handkerchief, in her right hand at her waist. Her other arm, closer to us, hangs down by her side as she touches the tutu. The background is painted with strokes of spring, sage, and pine green with touches of teal blue. The artist signed and dated the lower right, “A. Renoir. 74.”
Auguste Renoir, The Dancer, 1874, oil on canvas, Widener Collection, 1942.9.72

The Dancer

Auguste Renoir · 1874 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1942.9.72

Shown from the waist up, a man sits facing us on the far side of a ledge or counter looking down at an open book in this loosely painted, vertical portrait. The man’s pale skin is flushed pink. He leans both forearms onto the ledge so his shoulders hunch forward. His head tips slightly to our left, and he reads with gathered, dark brows. He has a round-tipped nose and full, bushy beard. His black, wavy hair and beard are touched with lighter shades of bronze, especially at the temples. He holds a white pipe to his lips with one hand, and tendrils of smoke curl from the burning embers. He wears a black coat, and a slip of white cuff is visible on the hand we see. The other hand is tucked behind the first. The pages of the book are bright white, and the ledge surface is painted with strokes of celery green and ochre yellow. A swirling black form in the lower left corner of the painting is difficult to interpret. The background is painted with loose brushstrokes in shades of sky and cobalt blue and charcoal gray. The artist signed the painting near the lower left corner, “A. Renoir.”
Auguste Renoir, Claude Monet, 1872, oil on canvas, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, 1985.64.35

Claude Monet

Auguste Renoir · 1872 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1985.64.35

A woman wearing a sheer white blouse, short red and gold vest, and full-legged, patterned pants cinched below the knee lies back and looks at us with hooded eyes in this horizontal painting. Her shoulders lean back against an oversized white pillow, up along the right edge of the composition. Her body tips toward us, and her knees are bent so her feet are together in the lower left corner. Her right arm rests along the side of her body, and she props herself up with her other arm. That hand has a gold band on the ring finger. Her light skin is tinged with green on her face. Her head rolls slightly away from us so she looks down her cheeks at us with slitted, dark eyes through heavily lined lids. She has dark brows, and her rose-red lips are parted. The angle of her head creates a slight double chin. Gold hoops with dangling fringe or chains hang from her ears, and she wears three strands of dark beads around her neck. Her black hair is plaited in a thick braid that comes down over her left shoulder, closer to us. A cap made of gold-colored disks and red fringe sits on the far side of her head. The woman’s clothing is more loosely painted. We may see her breasts and pink nipples through her sheer, silver-gray tunic, which has long, voluminous sleeves. The short, bolero-style vest is strawberry red and gold, with narrow cap sleeves. A sea-blue sash around her waist is striped with overlapping burnt-orange and black lines. Her pants have flaring legs gathered with a button just below her knees. The pattern is of sage-green circles with swipes of rust-red in the center, suggesting flowers and vines against a black background. Her knees are spread open so her feet can barely be contained within the composition. Her teal-green slip-on shoes have the suggestion of flowers painted with dabs of yellow, black, and red, and a pompom atop each toe box. A red and gold cushion sits just beyond her feet. On it is a tray of oranges and an emerald-green jug. The pillow the woman leans on is propped against a short section of wall or piece of furniture painted with a border of roses. The room opens up beyond this, and has a turquoise and brown rug leading back to a cranberry-red sofa, on which a gray piece of fabric has been draped. The wall above is patterned with yellow and green diamonds and pink flowers against a laurel-green background. The artist signed the lower left, “A. Renoir. 70.”
Auguste Renoir, Odalisque, 1870, oil on canvas, Chester Dale Collection, 1963.10.207

Odalisque

Auguste Renoir · 1870 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1963.10.207

A pale, nearly nude woman with dark hair sits on a mossy rock, holding an archer's bow, with a dead deer at her feet in this vertical painting. Her body is angled to our left and she looks down toward the animal with dark eyes. Her hair is pulled up, and her pale pink lips are closed. She is covered only by a light, celery-green cloth and rose-pink ribbon across her hips. She has full, round breasts and curving belly, hips, and thighs. The deer’s legs face the woman as it lies on the ground, but its head is pulled back at a dramatic angle into the lower left corner, seeping blood from the mouth and from a slash across its neck. A quiver of arrows lies to the woman’s right, farther from us, on the moss-covered rock on which she is seated. More boulders behind her create the impression of hills, nearly filling the composition. Trees grow up against a corner of pale blue sky above.
Auguste Renoir, Diana, 1867, oil on canvas, Chester Dale Collection, 1963.10.205

Diana

Auguste Renoir · 1867 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1963.10.205

Bibliography

1974

  • Daulte, François. "Renoir et la famille Bérard." L'Oeil no. 233 (February 1974):4-13