The Life and Legacy of Renoir: History's Greatest Artists (Unabridged‪)‬

Pierre-Auguste Renoir stands alongside Claude Monet at the very peak of Impressionist painting, and though neither of them can be credited with founding the movement (that honor likely goes to Edouard Manet or Edgar Degas), Renoir and Monet remain inextricably tied to the key characteristics of Impressionism: loose brushwork; outdoor painting; an emphasis on capturing natural light and shadow; and a focus on remaining in Paris and the surrounding countryside. Yet if Monet and Renoir are each remembered for their affiliation with these descriptors, differences nevertheless distinguish them, especially the fact that Renoir concentrated less on nature than did Monet, attending instead to scenes depicting Parisian leisure activity. This thematic concern for depicting scenes of idyllic Parisian enjoyment, such as rowing in boats or grand luncheons, imbues Renoir with a greater sense of joie-de-vivre than Monet or perhaps any of the other members of the Impressionist cohort. Even though Renoir's art shares much in common with his Impressionist colleagues, both his handling of paint and even his subject matter contain significant differences that render him truly unique as a painter.