Pierre-Auguste Renoir
’s (1841–1919) timelessly charming paintings still reflect our ideals of happiness, love, and beauty. Derived from our large-format volume, the
most comprehensive retrospective of his work published to date
, this compact edition examines the personal history and motivation behind the legend. Though he began by painting landscapes in the Impressionist style, Renoir found his true affinity in portraits, after which he abandoned the Impressionists altogether. Though often misunderstood, Renoir remains
one of history’s most well-loved painters
—undoubtedly because his works exude such warmth, tenderness, and good spirit.
In an incisive text tracing the artist’s career and stylistic evolution,
Gilles Néret
shows
how Renoir
reinvented the painted female form
, with his everyday goddesses and their plump contours, rounded hips and breasts. Renoir’s later phase, marked by his return to the simple pleasure of the female nude in his
Bathers
series, was his most innovative and stylistically influential, and would inspire such masters as Matisse and Picasso.
With a
complete chronology
,
bibliography
photos, sketches
, and
brilliant reproductions
, this is the
essential work of reference
on this enduring master artist.