Renoir. 45th Ed. - (40th Edition) by Gilles Néret (Hardcover)

About the Book

Often misunderstood, Pierre-Auguste Renoir remains one of history's most-loved painters--undoubtedly because his work exudes such warmth, tenderness, and good cheer. Gathering brilliant reproductions and sketches, as well as photos and a complete chronology illustrating his life and work, this is the essential work of reference on Renoir.

Book Synopsis

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.

Review Quotes

"I am content to demand just one thing for a masterpiece: enjoyment."-- "Pierre-Auguste Renoir"

"One morning, one of us ran out of black and used blue, it was the birth of Impressionism."-- "Pierre-Auguste Renoir"

"Why shouldn't art be pretty? There are enough unpleasant things in the world."-- "Pierre-Auguste Renoir"