Aaron Gershfield on Renoir: Renoir's Early Years.
My name is Aaron Gershfield. I admire the art of Pierre-Auguste Renoir—because he paid attention to the detail of daily life of those around him; because his painting blurred the line between emotional and artistic; because he saw, or looked for, the tension between the emotion in his subjects and their natural settings; because he is a distillation of many artists who came before him...
The reason the list above could go on forever is that it is the complexity and sensitivity of Renoir that we are allowed to visit in his paintings.
The result of this transparency is that Renoir's art will continue to influence artists for centuries to come.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Self-Portrait. 1910
Early Life
Some cite early talent. Some cite his focus or dedication. The truth seems to be that his talent emerges from his dedication to his craft. Born in 1841 into a working-class family in Limoges -- then a centre of porcelain -- He began working like many children there in porcelain painting. But his diligence and interest in his work moved him, in time, to a position decorating fine china and fans.
This eventually led to art school. Using that as a spring board, he visited the Louvre often to study the paintings of the old masters. In 1862 he began studying with Charles Gleyre in Paris, and began meeting other painters such as Sisley, Camile Pissarro and Monet. This would become the centre of the impressionist movement. Though he was often so poor he couldn't afford paint, he began exhibiting around Paris in 1864, and he eventually connected with the family of a friend, Jules Le Coeur, and lived on their estate for ten years.
During this period, though
Renoir's style was taking hold, he hid his impressionistic
tendencies, trying to survive by painting more
Salon-friendly works, smooth, traditionally executed
paintings meant to impress the traditional buyers.
La parisienne, 187