1841: Born on 25 February into the family of the Limoges tailor Léonard Renoir.

      1844: Renoir’s family moves to Paris.

      1848–1854: Goes to school and sings in the choir of Saint-Eustache, where Charles Gounod was choir-master.

      1854: Works in the porcelain-painting workshop of the Lévy brothers.

      1858: Copies Watteau, Fragonard and other masters of the past in the Louvre.

      1862: Enters the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. Studies at Charles Gleyre’s studio. Meets Claude Monet, Alfred Sisley, Frédéric Bazille.

      1863: Leaves Gleyre’s studio.

      1864: Exhibits the painting Esmeralda at the Salon.

      1866: Completes his first large painting At the Inn of the Mother Anthony.

      1870–1871: On the declaration of the Franco-Prussian War, Renoir is drafted as a common soldier.

      1872: Meets Paul Durand-Ruel. Exhibits his painting Parisiennes Dressed as Algerian Women at the Salon.

      1873: Exhibits Riders in the Bois de Boulogne at the Salon des Refusés.

      1874: Exhibits 1 pastel and 6 paintings at the First Impressionist Exhibition.

      1876: Exhibits 15 paintings at the Second Impressionist Exhibition. Paints Garden in the Rue Cortot, Montmartre, Nude, The Ball at the Moulin de la Galette.

      1877: Exhibits 21 paintings, including Portrait of Jeanne Samary, at the Third Impressionist Exhibition.

      1879: Exhibits Portrait of Madame Charpentier with Her Children and Portrait of Jeanne Samary.

      First one-man show at the gallery of the magazine La Vie Moderne.

      1880: Meets Aline Charigot.

      1881: Journeys to Algeria and Italy. Paints The Luncheon of the Boating Party.

      1883: Retrospective exhibition (70 works) on the Boulevard de la Madeleine.

      1885: Birth of son Pierre. Paints portraits of Senator Goujon’s children.

      1886: Durand-Ruel arranges an exhibition of 39 paintings and pastels by Renoir in New York.

      1887: Completes The Great Bathers.

      1892: Retrospective exhibition at the Galerie Durand-Ruel (110 works).

      1894: Birth of son Jean.

      1901: Birth of son Claude.

      1915: Aline Renoir dies in Nice.

      1919: Pierre-Auguste Renoir dies on 3 December in Cagnes-sur-Mer.

* * *

      Pierre-Auguste Renoir was born in Limoges on 25 February 1841. He was the sixth child in the family of Léonard Renoir and Marguerite Merlet. Three years later, in 1844, the Renoirs moved to Paris. In 1848, Auguste began attending a school run by the Frères des Ecoles Chrétiennes. Renoir was lucky with the music teacher – it proved to be the composer Charles Gounod, who took the boy into the choir at the church of Saint-Eustache.

      Portrait of the Artist’s Mother

      1860

      Oil on canvas, 45 × 38 cm

      Private collection

      In 1854, the boy’s parents took him from school and found a place for him in the Lévy brothers’ workshop, where he was to learn to paint porcelain. Renoir’s younger brother Edmond had this to say: “From what he drew in charcoal on the walls, they concluded that he had the ability for an artist’s profession (…) The young apprentice set about mastering the craft seriously: at the end of the day, he armed himself with a piece of cardboard bigger than himself and headed for the free drawing courses. It went on like that for two or three years.”

      Jules Le Cœur Walking in the Fontainebleau Forest with his Dogs

      1866

      Oil on canvas, 106 × 80 cm

      Museu de Arte, São Paulo

      He made rapid progress: a few months into his apprenticeship, he was already being set to paint pieces that they usually gave to qualified workers. That made him the butt of jokes. They called him Monsieur Rubens and he cried because they were laughing at him. One of the Lévys’ workers, Emile Laporte, painted in oils in his spare time. He suggested Renoir make use of his canvases and paints. This offer resulted in the appearance of the first painting by the future Impressionist. It was solemnly presented for Laporte’s inspection at the Renoir’s home.

      At the Inn of the Mother Anthony

      1866

      Oil on canvas, 195 × 130 cm

      National Museum, Stockholm

      Edmond Renoir recollected: “It’s as if it happened yesterday. I was still a boy, but I understood perfectly that something serious was taking place: the easel with the celebrated painting on it was set up in the middle of the largest room in our modest dwelling on the Rue d’Argenteuil. Everyone was nervous and burning with impatience. I was dressed up nicely and told to behave myself. It was very grand. The ‘maître’ arrived… At a signal, I moved his chair up close to the easel. He sat down and set about examining the ‘work’.

      Flowers in a Vase

      1866

      Oil on canvas, 81.3 × 65.1 cm

      Musée de l’Orangerie, Paris

      I can see it now – it was Eve. Behind her, the snake was twined around the branches of an oak. It was approaching with open jaws, as if it wanted to cast a spell over Eve. The trial lasted a quarter of an hour at least, after which, without any superfluous comments, that poor old man came up to our parents and told them: “You should let your son go in for painting. In our trade the most he will achieve is to make twelve or fifteen francs a day. I predict a brilliant future for him in art. Do all you can for him.” That is how family legend recorded the birth of Renoir, the artist.

      Frédéric Bazille at His Easel

      1867

      Oil on canvas, 106 × 74 cm

      Musée d’Orsay, Paris

      Auguste Renoir positively acknowledged the role his family had played in shaping his future. It was from his parents that he obtained the respect for the crafts which

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