Pierre Auguste Renoir

Was born in Limoges on 25 February 1841, in the middle of a family of craftsmen. At a young age he moved to Paris with his father who wished to improve his financial situation. When he was 14 he showed an inclination towards the arts and was sent to the workshop of a porcelain decorator while at night he studied at a drawing school. He left the decoration of porcelain in 1858 with the purpose of taking a better paid job and thus became involved in the painting of fans and fabrics.
He became a pupil of Gleyre when, in 1862, he enrolled at the School of Fine Arts. This allowed him to become friends with many of the great masters such as Monet, Sisley and Bazille. The following year he went to the Louvre Museum, where he copied antique works of art, and then went to Fontainebleau in order to paint within nature. In 1864 he met the master Diaz de la Pe�a, who taught him to love nature and colour. This was a time of trial but Renoir lived it with great enthusiasm. Sometimes he exhibited at the Paris Salon but he was frequently rejected as he had followed the more modern concepts of painting. His idol, Courbet, was considered a revolutionary and a corruptor of good painting.
Bazille, who at that time had a good economic position, tried to help Renoir and took him in to his studio. In 1868, his painting "Lise" was admitted at the Salon, where the artistic circles of Paris frequently went. Manet, Degas, Bazille, Sisley, Monet, Pissarro, Cezanne, Fantine-Latour, the photographer Nadar, critics and writers met at the Guerbois Cafe and among them the idea of a collective exhibition was born. This later gave birth to what was to be considered the exhibition of the Impressionists. The first of these was held in 1874 at the Nadar Studio, as the economic problems and the consequences of the Franco-Prussian War had not allowed it to take place before. Although this brought about a great scandal, its success was apparent and there were more exhibitions in 1876, 1877, 1879, 1880, 1882, and 1886. Due to differences with Degas, Renoir did not present himself at the 1880 and 1886 exhibitions. These exhibitions were most important as they gained new admirers of the Impressionists. They were also supported by the art dealer Durand-Ruel, who organized exhibitions in his own Gallery.
During these years Renoir was very close to Monet and they used to paint together. Renoir then moved to Paris, on the banks of the Seine, and travelled around France to paint the portraits of his friends and to search for landscapes that would inspire him. In 1880, he fell in love with a model of his, Aline Charigot, and finally married her. In 1881 the family moved to Italy and there Renoir was overwhelmed with Rafael`s works - an event that would influence his work to come. At this time in his life, Renoir was a well-known figure and enjoyed a good economic position. But impressionism was still not mature enough or understood. In 1894 he struggled with the state to accept his decision to donate the Caillebotte collection, which he had inherited from a friend, but just three years later it was accepted. During this period Renoir started making frequent trips to the south of France due to attacks of rheumatism. In 1899 he had passed the winter at Cagnes and in 1905, decided to live there. In 1912, as a consequence of his illness, he painted with the paintbrushes tied to his hands.
Notwithstanding this, he continued to work with enthusiasm and creativeness. In 1919 after visiting the Louvre Museum for the last time, he died at Cagnes on 3 December, when he was 78 years old.