Pierre-Auguste Renoir has left his mark on art history as one of the leading impressionist painters.
His delicately observed depictions of light fascinate even contemporary viewers.
In this issue, we will introduce nine facts about Renoir and his works.

1) Was Renoir more talented as a singer than a painter?

As a boy, Pierre-Auguste took singing lessons in the local choir and was recognized for his talent.
However, due to his family's financial situation, he had to quit.
If not for something that led Pierre to art as a young boy, and if his family had been financially stable, perhaps Renoir as a singer would have become famous.

(2) He was an apprentice ceramic painter near the Louvre.

To help his family, Renoir worked as an apprentice painter at a pottery factory. There, his talent for painting was discovered.
He often stopped by the nearby Louvre Museum, where he acquired his skills by copying paintings by past masters.
Eventually, his life as a craftsman came to an end as the pottery factory was mechanized and the painters were laid off.

(3) Encounters with Monet, Sisley, and Bazille and the First Impressionist Exhibition

In the year that Impressionism became known as "Impressionism," Renoir participated in an exhibition held together with Claude Monet, Afrred Sisley, and Frédéric Bazille.
At the first Impressionist exhibition, they were ridiculed by critics who said that they painted only with impressions, and they were sunk.
However, Renoir's work received relatively favorable reviews.

Bal du moulin de galette, Renoir, 1876


La Balancoire, Renoir, 1876

4) He was a very fast painter.

At times, some of his paintings were finished in 30 minutes. Compared to traditional painters, who would spend months or years to complete a work, he was able to paint at a tremendous speed.
For example, he painted a portrait of Richard Wagner in only 35 minutes.
During a one-month stay in Guernsey, he returned with 15 paintings.

Richard Wagner, 1882

5) Admire Delacroix, Velazquez, and Titian

Renoir traveled to Algeria in search of experiences similar to those inspired by Delacroix in Algeria, traveled to Madrid to see Velázquez's works, and traveled to Florence to see Titian's works in person.

Diego Velázquez, Las meninas, 1656


Venus of Urbino, 1534

6) He used his own color theory and did not use black and brown.

Unlike the common sense of painters of the time, Renoir had a unique sense of color and never used brown or black for shadows.
Rather, he used colorful colors for shadows by incorporating the reflected light of surrounding objects.
This simple but important color policy was a major element that characterized the Impressionists.

Luncheon of the Boating Party, 1880

(7) Once almost thrown into the Seine

Renoir often sketched outdoors. While sketching at the same spot on the Seine, Renoir was suspected by Communist Party members.
In the end, when he was almost thrown into the river, one of the Communists, a man named Reginaire, realized that it was Renoir and saved his life, because Renoir had saved Reginaire on another occasion.

The Seine at Asnieres, 1879

(viii) In his later years, he suffered from rheumatism

In his later years, Renoir suffered from rheumatism in his right shoulder and other joints of his body. This forced him to make major changes in his style, but it did not stop him from painting itself.
As the disease progressed, his shoulders became completely stiff. To overcome this, Renoir taped his paintbrushes to his hands and painted.

Renoir painting with a paintbrush strapped to his hand

(ix) All three of his sons became artists.

Renoir had three sons, Pierre, Jean, and Claude.
Pierre became a stage and film actor. And Jean became a film director. Claude chose to become a potter, the closest to his father.