The Artist

Pierre-Auguste Renoir

French · 1841 - 1919 · Impressionism

Renoir's paintings are the soft-light, full-color side of Impressionism — bathers, gardens, lazy afternoons by the Seine. Luncheon of the Boating Party and Bal du moulin de la Galette gather entire social worlds onto one canvas in dappled summer light. Where Monet looked at landscape and Degas at movement, Renoir kept returning to faces, the way skin holds color, the simple pleasure of being together. His work translates to canvas prints with particular generosity — the warmth was always built in.