Famous French artists. School encyclopedia

Woman with a cat. 1875

French painter, graphic artist and sculptor, one of the main representatives of impressionism. Renoir is known primarily as a master of secular portraiture, not devoid of sentimentality; he was the first of the impressionists to gain success among wealthy Parisians. In the mid-1880s. actually broke with impressionism, returning to the linearity of classicism, to Engrism.

Self-portrait. 1876

Auguste Renoir was born on February 25, 1841 in Limoges, a city located in south-central France. Renoir was the sixth child of a poor tailor named Léonard and his wife, Marguerite.

Portrait of Renoir's mother. 1860

In 1844, the Renoirs moved to Paris, and here Auguste entered the church choir at the great Saint-Estache Cathedral. He had such a voice that the choir director, Charles Gounod, tried to convince the boy’s parents to send him to study music. However, in addition to this, Auguste showed a gift as an artist, and when he was 13 years old, he began to help the family by getting a job with a master, from whom he learned to paint porcelain plates and other dishes. In the evenings, Auguste attended painting school.

Dance in Bougival. 1883

In 1865, at the house of his friend, artist Jules Le Coeur, he met a 16-year-old girl, Lisa Treo, who soon became Renoir's lover and his favorite model. In 1870, their daughter Jeanne Marguerite was born, although Renoir refused to officially acknowledge his paternity. Their relationship continued until 1872, when Lisa left Renoir and married someone else.

Self-portrait. 1875

Renoir's creative career was interrupted in 1870-1871, when he was drafted into the army during the Franco-Prussian War, which ended in a crushing defeat for France.

Dance in the countryside. 1883

The portrait of Aline Charigot, Renoir's wife, was probably painted while the family was in the countryside in eastern France. 1885

In 1890, Renoir married Alina Charigot, whom he had met ten years earlier, when she was a 21-year-old seamstress.

Motherhood. 1886

They already had a son, Pierre, born in 1885, and after their marriage they had two more sons - Jean, born in 1894, and Claude (known as "Coco"), born in 1901 and who became one of the most beloved models father.

Jean Renoir paints. 1901

By the time his family finally formed, Renoir had achieved success and fame, was recognized as one of the leading artists in France and managed to receive from the state the title of Knight of the Legion of Honor.

The artist's family. 1896

Renoir's personal happiness and professional success were overshadowed by illness. In 1897, Renoir broke his right arm after falling from his bicycle. As a result, he developed rheumatism, from which he suffered for the rest of his life. Rheumatism made it difficult for Renoir to live in Paris, and in 1903 the Renoir family moved to an estate called “Colette” in the small town of Cagnes-sur-Mer.

Self-portrait. 1899

After an attack of paralysis in 1912, despite two surgical operations, Renoir was confined to a wheelchair, but continued to paint with a brush that a nurse placed between his fingers.

Auguste Renoir. Self-portrait.1910

In the last years of his life, Renoir gained fame and universal recognition. In 1917, when his Umbrellas were exhibited at the London National Gallery, hundreds of British artists and art lovers sent him congratulations, saying: “From the moment your picture was hung alongside the works of the Old Masters, we experienced the joy that our contemporary took his rightful place in European painting.”

Umbrellas. 1883

Renoir's painting was also exhibited at the Louvre, and in August 1919 the artist visited Paris for the last time to look at it.

Self-portrait. 1910

On December 3, 1919, Pierre Auguste Renoir died in Cagnes-sur-Mer from pneumonia at the age of 78. He was buried in Essois.

Spring bouquet. 1866

Creation

Selection of genres 1862-1873

At the beginning of 1862, Renoir passed the exams at the School of Fine Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts and enrolled in Gleyre's workshop. There he met Fantin-Latour, Sisley, Basil and Claude Monet. They soon became friends with Cézanne and Pizarro, and this is how the backbone of the future group of impressionists was formed.

Camille Monet. 1873

In his early years, Renoir was influenced by the works of the Barbizonians, Corot, Prudhon, Delacroix and Courbet.

Summer 1868

In 1864, Gleyre closed his workshop and his studies ended. Renoir began to paint his first canvases and then for the first time presented the painting “Esmeralda dancing among the tramps” to the Salon. It was accepted, but when the canvas was returned to him, the author destroyed it.

Portrait of the Sisleys. 1868

Paddling pool. 1869

Having chosen genres for his works in those years, he did not change them until the end of his life. This is a landscape - “Jules le Coeur in the forest of Fontainebleau” (1866), everyday scenes - “Splashing Pool” (1869), “Pont Neuf” (1872), a still life - “Spring Bouquet” (1866), “Still Life with a Bouquet and a Fan” (1871), portrait - “Lisa with an umbrella” (1867), “Odalisque” (1870), nude - “Diana the Huntress” (1867).

Odalisque. 1870

Still life with a bouquet and a fan. 1871

In 1872, Renoir and his friends created the Anonymous Cooperative Partnership.

Mademoiselle Sicot. 1865

Madame Clementine Valensi Stora. 1870

Camille Monet. 1872

Madame Edouard Bernier. 1871

Woman with a parrot. 1871

Rafa Mater.1871

Unnecessary umbrella. 1872

Driving to Bois de Boulogne. 1873

The struggle for recognition 1874-1882

The first exhibition of the partnership opened on April 15, 1874. Renoir presented pastels and six paintings, including “Dancer” and “Lodge” (both 1874). The exhibition ended in failure, and the members of the partnership received an insulting nickname - “Impressionists”.

Lodge. 1874

The painting shows a woman (in the foreground) and a man (in the background) sitting in a box at an opera house. Renoir’s brother, journalist Edmond Renoir, and Montmartre model Nini Lopez posed for this painting.

Smiling woman. Portrait of Madame Pecchi. 1875

Fishwife. 1875

Madame Victor Choquet. 1875

Despite poverty, it was during these years that the artist created his main masterpieces: “Grand Boulevards” (1875), “Walk” (1875), “Ball at the Moulin de la Galette” (1876), “Nude” (1876), “Nude” in the sunlight" (1876), "Swing" (1876), "First departure" (1876/1877), "Path in the tall grass" (1877).

Ball at the Moulin de la Galette. 1876

Swing. 1876

Portrait of Madame Alphonse Daudet. 1876

Nude. 1876

Young woman braiding her hair. 1876

Renoir gradually stopped participating in impressionist exhibitions. In 1879, he presented to the Salon the full-figure “Portrait of the Actress Jeanne Samary” (1878) and “Portrait of Madame Charpentier with Children” (1878) and achieved universal recognition, and subsequently financial independence. He continued to paint new canvases - in particular, the now famous Boulevard of Clichy (1880), Luncheon of the Rowers (1881), and On the Terrace (1881).

Young girl reading a book. 1876

Portrait of Madame Charpentier. 1877

Portrait of actress Zhanna Samary. 1877

Portrait of actress Zhanna Samary. 1878

Cup of chocolate. 1878

In confidence. 1878

Portrait of Alfonsine Pechi. 1879

Lunch for rowers on the river bank. 1879

A young woman sewing. 1879

Portrait of Teresa Berard. 1879

Near the lake. 1880

Rowers' breakfast. 1881

The painting was painted in the Fournaise restaurant, located on an island on the Seine River, located in Chatou, a little west of Paris. Renoir loved this place - not only “The Luncheon of the Rowers” ​​was painted here, but also some other paintings. In fact, the painting is a group portrait of a meeting of friends. A joyful, relaxed atmosphere reigns, there is no pomp, everyone is in natural, casual poses. Behind the railings you can see dense greenery, behind which the Seine River can be seen.In the painting, Renoir depicted many of his friends and acquaintances.

Two sisters (On the terrace). 1881

Albert Caen, French opera composer.1881

Girl with a fan. 1881

Girls in black. 1881

Portrait of Alfred Berard with his dog. 1881

Marie-Thérèse Durand-Ruel sewing. 1882

"Ingres period" 1883-1890

Renoir visited Algeria, then Italy, where he became closely acquainted with the works of the classics of the Renaissance, after which his artistic taste changed. Renoir painted a series of paintings “Dance in the Country” (1882/1883), “Dance in the City” (1883), “Dance in Bougival” (1883), as well as such paintings as “In the Garden” (1885) and “Umbrellas” (1881/1886), where the impressionist past is still visible, but Renoir’s new approach to painting is revealed.

Girl with a straw hat. 1884

The so-called “Ingres period” opens. The most famous work of this period is “The Great Bathers” (1884/1887). For the first time, the author used sketches and outlines to construct the composition. The lines of the drawing became clear and defined. The colors lost their former brightness and saturation, the painting as a whole began to look more restrained and colder.

Big bathers. 1884-1887.

In the foreground are three naked women - two are on the shore, and the third is standing in the water, apparently about to splash them. The figures of the women are drawn very clearly and realistically, which was a characteristic style for this period of Renoir’s work, which was called the “dry” or “Ingres” (named after the artist Dominique Ingres) period.

Posing for Renoir's painting were (from left to right) Alina Charigot, Renoir's future wife (in 1885 their first son, Pierre, was born, and the marriage was officially concluded in 1890), and Suzanne Valadon (real name Marie-Clementine Valadon), who later became famous artist.

Renoir worked on this painting for about three years, and in the process produced a large number of sketches and studies, including at least two full-scale multi-figure versions. After “The Great Bathers” there was not a single painting to which he devoted so much time and effort.

Right on the seashore. 1883

Dance in the city. 1883

Young ladies playing badminton. 1885

Portrait of Suzanne Valadon. 1885

A young girl reading. 1886

Hairstyle. 1888

Young girl with daisies. 1889

Madame de Vernon. 1889

Girl in pink and black hat. 1890

"Mother of Pearl Period" 1891-1902

In 1892, Durand-Ruel opened a large exhibition of Renoir's paintings, which was a great success. Recognition also came from government officials - the painting “Girls at the Piano” (1892) was purchased for the Luxembourg Museum.

Girls at the piano. 1892
The painting depicts two young girls: one is sitting at the piano, and the other is standing next to her. Both girls look attentively and enthusiastically at the notes, apparently selecting some kind of melody. Such a calm, idyllic picture was a symbol of French bourgeois culture of that time.

Woman in a hat. 1891

The girls are reading. 1891

Christina Lerolle embroiders. 1895

Playing guitar. 1897

Renoir traveled to Spain, where he became acquainted with the works of Velazquez and Goya.
In the early 90s, new changes took place in Renoir's art. An iridescence of color appeared in the pictorial manner, which is why this period is sometimes called “mother-of-pearl.”
At this time, Renoir painted such paintings as “Apples and Flowers” ​​(1895/1896), “Spring” (1897), “Son Jean” (1900), “Portrait of Madame Gaston Bernheim” (1901). He traveled to the Netherlands, where he was interested in the paintings of Vermeer and Rembrandt.

Madame Paule Gallimard was born Lucie Duce. 1892

Girls looking at an album. 1892

Girl combing her hair. 1894

Woman with red blush. 1896

Three bathers with a crab. 1897

Portrait of Christina Lerolle.1897

Young Spanish woman playing guitar. 1898

Yvonne and Christine at the piano. 1898

"Red period" 1903-1919

The “pearl” period gave way to the “red” period, so named because of the preference for shades of reddish and pink flowers.
Renoir continued to paint sunny landscapes, still lifes with bright flowers, portraits of his children, naked women, created “A Walk” (1906), “Portrait of Ambroise Vollard” (1908), “Gabriel in a Red Blouse” (1910), “Bouquet of Roses” "(1909/1913), "Woman with a mandolin" (1919).

Portrait of Martha Denis. 1904

Thoughtfulness. 1906

Portrait of Ambroise Vollard. 1908

Ambroise Vollard is one of the most significant art dealers (marchands) in Paris in the late 19th century - early 19th century. XX centuries He supported both financially and morally a large number of famous and unknown artists, including Cezanne, Maillol, Picasso, Rouault, Gauguin and van Gogh. He was also known as a collector and publisher.

Gabriel is darning. 1908

Lady with a fan. 1908

Mr. and Mrs. Bernheim de Villers. 1910

Wash. 1912

Woman at the stove. 1912

Interesting Facts

A close friend of Auguste Renoir was Henri Matisse, who was almost 28 years younger than him. When A. Renoir was essentially bedridden due to illness, A. Matisse visited him every day. Renoir, almost paralyzed by arthritis, overcoming the pain, continued to paint in his studio. One day, observing the pain with which each brush stroke was given to him, Matisse could not stand it and asked: “Auguste, why don’t you leave painting, you’re suffering so much?” Renoir limited himself to answering: “The pain passes, but beauty remains.” And this was the whole of Renoir, who worked until his last breath.

The French art school at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries can be called the leading European school; it was in France at that time that such art styles as Rococo, Romanticism, Classicism, Realism, Impressionism and Post-Impressionism originated.

François Boucher, Antoine Watteau, and Jean Honoré Fragonard worked in the Rococo style.

Jean Baptiste Greuze, Nicolas Poussin, Jean Baptiste Chardin, Jean Dominique Ingres, and Jacques-Louis David worked in the style of classicism.

Francisco de Goya, Eugene Delacroix, Theodore Gericault, and William Blake worked in the style of romanticism.

The birth of realism in painting is most often associated with the work of the French artist Gustave Courbet, who opened his personal exhibition “Pavilion of Realism” in Paris in 1855, although even before him, artists of the Barbizon school Theodore Rousseau, Jean-François Millet, and Jules Breton worked in a realistic manner . In the 1870s. realism was divided into two main directions - naturalism and impressionism.

Realistic painting has become widespread throughout the world. The Itinerants worked in the style of realism with a strong social orientation in Russia in the 19th century.

Edgar Degas, Edouard Manet, Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Auguste Renoir, Georges Seurat, Alfred Sisley and others worked in the style of impressionism.

Post-Impressionism gave rise to such art movements as expressionism, symbolism and modernism.

Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Paul Cezanne, and Toulouse-Lautrec worked in the post-impressionist style.

Let's take a closer look at impressionism and post-impressionism using the example of the work of individual masters of France in the 19th century.

Starting with historical paintings and portraits that were strict in composition, in the 1870s Degas became close to representatives of impressionism and turned to depicting modern city life - streets, cafes, theatrical performances.

In Degas's paintings, a dynamic, often asymmetrical composition, precise flexible drawing, unexpected angles, and active interaction between figure and space are carefully thought out and verified.

The favorite pastel technique allowed Edgar Degas to fully demonstrate his talent as a draftsman. Rich tones and “shimmering” strokes of pastel helped the artist create that special colorful atmosphere, that iridescent airiness that so distinguishes all his works.

Edgar Degas can be called a subtle colorist; his pastels are surprisingly harmonious, sometimes gentle and light, sometimes built on sharp color contrasts. Degas's style was remarkable for its amazing freedom; he applied pastels with bold, broken strokes, sometimes leaving the tone of the paper showing through the pastel or adding strokes in oil or watercolor. Color in Degas's paintings arises from an iridescent radiance, from a flowing stream of rainbow lines that give birth to form.

Degas's late works are distinguished by the intensity and richness of color, which are complemented by the effects of artificial lighting, enlarged, almost flat forms, and cramped space, giving them an intensely dramatic character. In that

It should be noted that the use of green, yellow, ocher, pink and red tones to depict skin shocked the public of that time, unprepared to perceive the fact that shadows should be colored, filled with light.

In the 1880s, the so-called “Ingres period” began in Renoir’s work. The most famous work of this period is “The Great Bathers.” To build a composition, Renoir began to use sketches and sketches for the first time, the lines of the drawing became clear and defined, the colors lost their former brightness and saturation, the painting as a whole began to look more restrained and colder.

In the early 1890s, new changes took place in Renoir's art. In a painterly manner, an iridescence of color appears, which is why this period is sometimes called “pearl”, then this period gives way to “red”, so named because of the preference for shades of reddish and pink colors.

In the painting “Yellow Christ,” Gauguin depicted the crucifixion against the background of a typical French rural landscape, the suffering Jesus is surrounded by three Breton peasant women. The peace in the air, the calm submissive poses of women, the landscape saturated with sunny yellow color with trees in red autumn foliage, the peasant busy with his business in the distance, cannot but come into conflict with what is happening on the cross. The environment is in sharp contrast to Jesus, whose face displays that stage of suffering that borders on apathy, indifference to everything around him. The contradiction between the boundless torments accepted by Christ and the “unnoticed” nature of this sacrifice by people is the main theme of this work by Gauguin.

on the shore, two sisters - they have just swam, and now their bodies are stretched out on the sand in casual voluptuous poses - talking about love, one memory causes discord: “How? Are you jealous!".

In painting the lush full-blooded beauty of tropical nature, natural people unspoiled by civilization, Gauguin depicted a utopian dream of an earthly paradise, of human life in harmony with nature. Gauguin's Polynesian paintings resemble panels in their decorative color, flatness and monumentality of composition, and generality of the stylized design.

P. Gauguin. Where did we come from? Who are we? Where are we going? 1897-1898

The painting “Where did we come from? Who are we? Where are we going?" Gauguin considered it the sublime culmination of his reflections. According to the artist’s plan, the painting should be read from right to left: three main groups of figures illustrate the questions posed in the title. The group of women with a child on the right side of the picture represents the beginning of life; the middle group symbolizes the daily existence of maturity; in the extreme left group, Gauguin depicted human old age, approaching death; the blue idol in the background symbolizes the other world. This painting is the pinnacle of Gauguin's innovative post-impressionist style; his style combined a clear use of colors, decorative color and composition, flatness and monumentality of the image with emotional expressiveness.

Gauguin's work anticipated many features of the Art Nouveau style that was emerging during this period and influenced the development of the masters of the “Nabi” group and other painters of the early 20th century.

In 1888, Van Gogh moved to Arles, where the originality of his creative style was finally determined. Fiery artistic temperament, a painful impulse towards harmony, beauty and happiness and, at the same time, fear of forces hostile to man, are embodied either in landscapes shining with sunny colors of the south (“The Yellow House”, “The Harvest. La Croe Valley”), or in ominous , images reminiscent of a nightmare (“Cafe Terrace at Night”); dynamics of color and brushstroke

Van Gogh's intense work in recent years was accompanied by bouts of mental illness, which led him to a mental hospital in Arles, then to Saint-Rémy (1889–1890) and to Auvers-sur-Oise (1890), where he committed suicide. The work of the last two years of the artist’s life is marked by ecstatic obsession, extremely heightened expression of color combinations, sudden changes in mood - from frenzied despair and gloomy visionary (“Road with Cypresses and Stars”) to a tremulous feeling of enlightenment and peace (“Landscape in Auvers after the rain”) .

V. Van Gogh. Wheat field with crows. 1890

“Wheat Field with Crows” is a painting by Van Gogh, painted by the artist in July 1890 and is one of his most famous works. The painting was supposedly completed on July 10, 1890, 19 days before his death in Auvers-sur-Oise. There is a version that Van Gogh committed suicide in the process of painting this painting (going out into the open air with materials for painting, he shot himself in the heart area with a pistol purchased to scare away flocks of birds, then independently reached the hospital, where he died from the loss blood).

Art and design

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24.09.15 01:41

“So small, she’s clearly overrated!” grunt some tourists who specially came to the Louvre to see the local shrine, the Mona Lisa... The Louvre is the Louvre, but we shouldn’t forget that many famous painters were born in France itself. Let's take a short excursion into the past of this country and remember the best French artists.

The best French artists

Great classicist

Born at the end of the 16th century, Nicolas Poussin enthusiastically adopted the techniques of the masters of the High Renaissance, including the author of La Gioconda da Vinci and Raphael. His paintings often feature biblical characters and mythological subjects (even a cycle of landscapes dedicated to the seasons, which is inspired by the Bible). The Norman Poussin stood at the origins of classicism; his contribution to French art cannot be overestimated. His painting “Rest on the Flight to Egypt” is kept in our Hermitage.

Singer of the gallant era

Antoine Watteau, who was born almost two decades after the death of Poussin, firmly reigned on the “Olympus” of French artists. In his time there was not a single painter in Europe who could compete with him in skill. He lived only 36 years, but managed to leave many masterpieces. Watteau's everyday scenes, landscapes, and portraits are charming and elegant; he is called the forerunner of the Rococo style. To enter the Academy of Arts, the young man painted two versions of the painting “Pilgrimage to the Island of Cythera” (one is kept in Berlin, the other in the Louvre in Paris). The Hermitage acquired several works by the French artist, including the painting “Actors of the French Comedy”.

Gifted landscape painter

A first-class marine and landscape painter, Claude Joseph Vernet, worked in Italy for a long time. The coast of Naples and the mighty Tiber left their mark on his work. The Louvre collection includes “View of the Bridge and Castel Sant’Angelo” and “View of Naples with Vesuvius”, and the Hermitage exhibits “Rocks by the Seashore”, “Morning in Castellamare” and some other masterpieces of the master.

Romantic colleagues

A representative of the romantic movement in art, Eugene Delacroix was born at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries and received a good education. He loved to copy the masterpieces of old masters - and honed his art on them. Eugene was friends with Alexandre Dumas and admired the works of Géricault. Some of Delacroix’s most famous paintings (he often chose historical subjects) are “Freedom on the Barricades” and “The Death of Sardanapalus”.

Another romantic, Theodore Gericault, was only a few years older than Delacroix, but was a great authority for his colleague. Alas, fate gave him a very short life - at the age of 32, the painter fell from his horse and was killed. Theodore preferred large-scale battle scenes, copied Rubens, being a passionate admirer of the Fleming. Even if you haven’t heard the name of this French artist, you’ve probably seen reproductions of Géricault’s masterpiece “The Raft of the Medusa” (this work is the pride of the Louvre).

Eternal Wanderer

Eugene Henri Paul Gauguin is better known among us. The post-impressionist saw the onset of the 20th century, but died quite early: he died at 54 in 1903 in French Polynesia. They say that the genius was destroyed by illnesses (the worst of them was incurable leprosy). In his youth, he traveled a lot: Paul served as a simple sailor on a warship, and was a fireman on ships of the merchant fleet. Those impressions, of course, were reflected in the painter’s works. He almost devoted his life to brokerage, but stopped in time and devoted himself to creativity. Even uninitiated people are familiar with the vivid images created by Gauguin, for example, “Woman Holding a Fruit.”

Flying silhouettes

Any of you have heard the expression “Degas Ballerinas”. This French artist, indeed, drew inspiration from ballet schools and rehearsals. His light pastel strokes managed to capture graceful light tilts of the head, pirouettes, bows, jumps - we see this in the impressionist paintings “Dancing Lesson” or “Blue Dancers”. His everyday scenes are also widely known: “Absinthe”, “Ironers”.

Father of Impressionism

Another classic of European painting, Edouard Manet (one of the “fathers” of impressionism), like Degas, loved to depict the life of city dwellers: their walks in the garden or picnics in nature. His portraits are distinguished by their simplicity and artlessness, and at the end of his life he suddenly became interested in still lifes. “Olympia”, “Railway”, “Breakfast on the Grass” are considered world-class masterpieces.

Sentimental and pearlescent

Pierre Auguste Renoir's favorite genre was portraiture. Socialite primps, young innocent maidens, couples in love come to life under the confident brush strokes of the master. Having started as an impressionist, Pierre gradually became disillusioned with him and joined the classicists. His art is sentimental and pearlescent. Look at “Girls at the Piano” or “Spring Bouquet”, the canvases seem to glow from within.

Either a peasant or a thinker...

Paul Cézanne, with his silhouettes in portraits seemingly carved from stone and slightly “smeared” landscapes, is a prominent representative of post-impressionism. Both in his work and in life, he was stingy with emotions, laconic and not very emotional - there was something in him from a peasant, something from a scientist-thinker. It is interesting that it is his masterpiece “Card Players” that is one of the most expensive paintings in the world (in 2012 it was purchased for the collection of the Emir of Qatar for $250 million).

The evil fate of an aristocrat

Last on our list of the very best French artists is poor fellow Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse Lautrec. Why poor guy? Yes, he belonged to an ancient count family, but at the age of 13 and 14 the young man managed to break first the femur of one leg, then the other, because of this they stopped growing. Henri remained a disabled semi-dwarf. The impossibility of making a military career shocked the whole family, and Henri himself was pushed to take up painting. He studied with the masters (he was very fond of the work of Degas and Cezanne), and when he arrived in Paris, he became a regular at cabarets and pubs, became an alcoholic, became infected with syphilis, and died at the age of 37. His graphic works and paintings received recognition after his death. Portraits of the Moulin Rouge artists and prostitutes, to whose services Toulouse Lautrec was forced to resort, are now considered masterpieces.