Born in France in 1841, Pierre-Auguste Renoir was a leading member of the mid-to-late nineteenth century Impressionist movement in Europe and the United States. Today his color, light, and movement-drenched images might be viewed by some as old-fashioned, but in mid-nineteenth century he and other Impressionists were considered cutting edge and controversial. Like other artistic movements, the Impressionists rebelled against the staid, classical, but acceptable, academic style of painting. The Impressionists were interested in the effect light has on the colors found in the natural world. Renoir and most other Impressionists preferred painting outside, where the effects of light could be best observed. A more practical reason for the development of Impressionism had to do with the fact that around the middle of the nineteenth century paint became available in portable, metal tubes. Artists such as Renoir no longer were confined to the studio. Renoir was much influenced by earlier painters Boucher, Raphael, Manet, and others, and is known for his attention to and appreciation for female beauty and sensuality.

Renoir began his career in art at a porcelain factory. Managers there took note of the boy's drawing aptitude and set him to painting designs on china. He was born to a working class family, so he had to find artistic work of a more practical nature in order to earn the money for art school. Eventually he undertook study in Paris, working under the direction of Charles Gleyre. Sometimes he was so poor he had no money to buy paint. Renoir began exhibiting paintings at the Paris Salon in 1864, but did not achieve acclaim until the bold first Impressionist exhibition in 1874. During the early 1880s Renoir traveled to Algeria, where he met and worked with artist Eugene Delacroix. He then toured southern Europe, including Spain and Italy, stopping at many cities to view and study the works of the old masters.

In 1890 Renoir married a woman who frequently served as Renoir's models. Aline Victorine Charigot appears prominently in the famous Renoir painting, Les Dejeuner des canotiers (Luncheon of the Boating Party, 1881). The couple had three sons together. Renoir developed rheumatoid arthritis in 1892. His condition deteriorated slowly but significantly, and by 1907 he moved to the south of France in an effort to improve his health. Despite the pain and being confined to a wheelchair, he continued to paint over the last twenty years of his life. He continued to adapt his painting technique as his infirmity dictated. In 1919 he returned to Paris and the Louvre, where he viewed his work hanging with the old masters. He died later that year.

Image: 19th century photographic portrait of Auguste Renoir.