French Impressionist artist
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
was born,
February 25, 1841
in Limoges, Haute-Vienne, France
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Renoir was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially feminine sensuality, Herbert Edward Read says that “Renoir is the final representative of a tradition which runs directly from Rubens to Watteau.“
His paintings are notable for their vibrant light and saturated color, most often focusing on people in intimate and candid compositions. The female nude was one of his primary subjects. In each case, his paintings demonstrate free strokes of color through which figures fuse with each other and their surroundings.
Renoir was inspired by the style and subject matter of previous modern painters Camille Pissarro and Edouard Manet.
Renoir’s paintings are some of the most popular, well-recognized, and frequently reproduced images in the history of art. His work presents a vision of a forgotten world, full of sparkling color and light. He once said:
“Why shouldn’t art be pretty? There are enough unpleasant things in the world.”
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So here’s a glimpse of his work & words
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“The modern architect is, generally speaking, art’s greatest enemy.”
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“The advantage of growing old is that you become aware of your mistakes more quickly.”
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“There is something in painting which cannot be explained, and that something is essential.”
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“They tell you that a tree is only a combination of chemical elements. I prefer to believe that God created it, and that it is inhabited by a nymph.”
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“God, the king of artists, was clumsy.”
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“With all their damned talk of modern painting, I’ve been forty years discovering that the queen of all colours is black!”
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“Art is about emotion; if art needs to be explained it is no longer art..”
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“It took me twenty years to discover painting: twenty years looking at nature, and above all, going to the Louvre.”
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“An artist, under pain of oblivion, must have confidence in himself, and listen only to his real master: Nature.”
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“The only reward one should offer an artist is to buy his work.”
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“The ideas come afterwards, when the picture is finished.”
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“The artist who uses the least of what is called imagination will be the greatest.”
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“Work lovingly done is the secret of all order and all happiness.”
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“Be a good craftsman; it won’t stop you being a genius.”
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“You don’t talk about paintings, you look at them.”
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“I have arrived more definitely than any other painter during his lifetime; honours shower upon me from every side; artists pay me compliments on my work; there are many people to whom my position must seem enviable … But I don’t seem to have a single real friend!”
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“The most important element in a picture cannot be defined.”
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“To be an artist you must learn the laws of nature.”
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“I have no rules and no methods… no secrets.”
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“Religion is everywhere. It is in the mind, in the heart, in the love you put into what you do.”
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“Shall I tell you what I think are the two qualities of a work of art? First, it must be indescribable, and, second, it must be inimitable.”
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“Progress in painting, there’s no such thing! …One day I went and changed the yellow on my palette. Well, the result was, I floundered for ten years!”
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“One can thus state, without fear of being wrong, that every truly artistic production has been conceived and executed according to the principle of irregularity.”
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“One can thus state, without fear of being wrong, that every truly artistic production has been conceived and executed according to the principle of irregularity.”
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“Regularity, order, desire for perfection destroy art. Irregularity is the basis of all art.”
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“The work of art must seize upon you, wrap you up in itself and carry you away. It is the means by which the artist conveys his passion. It is the current which he puts forth which sweeps you along in his passion..”
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“I like a painting which makes me want to stroll in it.”
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“My concern has always been to paint nudes as if they were some splendid fruit.”
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“You come to nature with all your theories, and she knocks them all flat.”
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“The only way to understand painting is to go and look at it. And if out of a million visitors there is even one to whom art means something, that is enough to justify museums.”
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“In painting, as in the other arts, there’s not a single process, no matter how insignificant, which can be reasonably made into a formula.”
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“In a few generations you can breed a racehorse. The recipe for making a man like Delacroix is less well known.”
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“One must from time to time attempt things that are beyond one’s capacity.”
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Sculptures
Woman with Tambourine III 
La danseuse aux voiles 
The Washerwoman 
Mother and Child 
Venus Victorious 
The Washerwoman
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Self Portraits
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German composer
Ernst Wilhelm Wolf [1735 – 1792]
was also born on this day,
February 25, 1735
We listen to his
Sonata in F major
performed by
Gerard van Reenen clavichord
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&
String Quartet in B-Flat Major, Op. 3 No. 1:
II. Adagio “Le lacrime di Petrarca”
performed by
Pleyel Quartett Köln
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For more information on Renoir:
https://www.pierre-auguste-renoir.org/
https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/artists/pierre-auguste-renoir
https://www.musee-orangerie.fr/en/artist/auguste-renoir
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/auguste-renoir-1828
https://www.parkwestgallery.com/artist/pierre-auguste-renoir/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre-Auguste_Renoir
Marina Kanavaki 
Lve this post! I listened to the music again1
fabulous!!!!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Sooooooooooo happy you [re]enjoyed!!!!!
Love and hugs and
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Love and hugs!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
❤️💖🤗💕💕💜💗💗🌷🌟… for you dahling!
Dahling!!!!! xoxoxoxo
🌷❤🌷❤🌷❤🌷
This curated exhibit of Renoir’s work was sheer delight! In addition, I love all his quotes about art.
Ah, Liz, the pleasure was mine, that we took that journey together! Perfect quotes, right?!
Absolutely perfect. I had too many favorites to save, so I ended up just bookmarking the whole post.
Hard to pick, isn’t it? Renoir doesn’t make it easy! 😉
Beautiful blog
Ah, thank you very much! 😊🙏
What extraordinary talent, Marina. I especially love the little girl in the blue dress with the watering can, but they’re all fabulous. And the quotes are a wonderful element to this awesome post. Thanks, my friend, and Happy Weekend! 💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖
Extraordinary talent indeed! So happy you enjoyed his work (and words) Thank YOU, my dear Lauren! 🤗😘
Happy Sunday and week ahead!
Many hugs and ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
💖🌟☀️🌟💖
His Promenade happens to be my favorite. I always make time to view that one whenever I visit the Getty Museum in Los Angeles.
Art
…and I was certain I had included it, so thank you for mentioning it. I just added it! What a painting!
Thank you, Art!
Another exquisite exhibit, my friend! You always include pieces I’ve never seen before and all those wonderful quotes giving us a glimpse into an artist’s sensibilities. All are my favorites today. 🙂
Hard to pick huh?! My state exactly!
A journey of his brushstrokes is sheer bliss.
Happy Friday and weekend ahead!
… with hugs!
Happy Friday! 🤗🥰🤗🥰
🙏❤🤗😘🙏
I always forget how magnificent Renoir is until I look again at his paintings. Thank you for reminding me how superb he was.
Likewise! Sometimes we take them for granted and need a fresh look to re-appreciate the brilliance. I couldn’t stop blissfully smiling while viewing these or enlarging them.
Glad you enjoyed, my friend.
So beautiful, Marina. He was such an amazing artist and had a great variety of subjects. I love the portraits, but then I enjoyed seeing all of his paintings you showed here. The quotes are wonderful too. 😍🤗😘
He was amazing, I agree and I love the joy in each brushstroke. So glad you enjoyed it, Sylvia. Happy weekend ahead! 🤗😘🤗
Another artist I don’t know. I look at the first 4 or so images before reading, and thought … oh … similar to Monet. Then I read … I may not know him, but at least I hit the target. Soft and vibrant indeed.
Yes, you did hit the target and I’m sure you’ve seen some of his paintings even if you didn’t know the artist!
Isn’t he amazing?!
I adore his art. You are quite right. He was the first & second artist whose works I came to recognize, along with Toulouse-Lautrec. He is one of my faves, but there are many, now. All this art is like a box of chocolates without a map.
Some of the paintings I’ve seen here must be utterly breathtaking in real life.
I listened to the first piece of music, which is perfect for perusing these pics of paintings.
I will listened to the second piece, when I’ve posted this comment.
Aside: Do you know of a Canadian painter, Alex Coleville. He painted my very favourite work of art, ever; Horse and Train. I saw it at an art show many years ago. It mesmerized & hypnotized me, until the gallery was closing. They asked me to please leave.
Thank you for this, and all of the wonderful art posts you do!
Adore you, Marina!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxo
I remembered I’d seen this painting but to be sure I checked and it was also fascinating reading about it [https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/alex-colville/key-works/horse-and-train] I can relate to not wanting to leave the gallery!
As for Renoir, I was fortunate to see a few of his paintings and yes, breathtaking describes the feelings well!
I like that box of chocolates without a map! Endless joy!
So happy you enjoyed this.
Oceans of hugs, kisses and love
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo∞
Thank goodness for art, all arts and crafts, things we create with hands, hearts, minds ad infinitum!
Loved the post! xoxoxoxoxoxooxo
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Perfectly said!!!!!!
Cheers to that!!!! 🍷
Mouah!!!!!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
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Great art! No one knows how to paint like this anymore!
So very very true!
Great art indeed!
Thank you for your visit and comment. 🙂
Great post, Marina. Renoir is another favorite.
Maybe Renoir helped the painter for Leo’s sunset. Thank you, my friend. 🙏
I think most definitely he inspired the sunset painter and probably helped as well.
☁️🎨⛅️