A GIRL WITH A WATERING CAN

Pierre Auguste Renoir began his artistic career as a dish painter. While an art student he met a couple of fellow artists who would become famous in their own right: Frédéric Bazille, Claude Monet, and Alfred Sisley. Through his friendship with Monet he would meet Camille Pissarro and Paul Cézanne.

A few years after returning from war service, due to rejections by the snooty Salon juries, Renoir and his artist friends banded together to exhibit their works. This was the first Impressionist exhibition. The first one didn't go as well as hoped...the term "Impressionist" resulted from critics calling the paintings "impressions" rather than completed paintings...but Renoir and his pals did eventually sell a few paintings along the way.

Renoir did tire of the Impressionist technique of painting and in the 1880s, changed his method to a more disciplined technique, his later works being influenced by the paintings of Velazquez, Titian and Raphael after traveling to Spain and Italy. However his Impressionist paintings will always be appreciated by us art lovers.

The painting below, with its colors and light of the impressionist palette, is part of the extensive French painting collection donated to the National Gallery of Art by Chester Dale.

A Girl with a Watering Can (1876)

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The photo in this blog post was taken by me during my visit in September, 2013.

BAL DU MOULIN DE LA GALETTE

Bal du Moulin de la Galette (1876) by Pierre Auguste Renoir

Like many of his fellow Impressionist painters, many scenes Pierre Auguste Renoir painted were influenced from living and working in the Montmartre area of Paris. This painting, which hangs in the Musée d'Orsay, is one of his most important early Impressionist works. Several of Renoir's friends appear in the painting which portrays Parisians enjoying themselves in this popular dance garden in Montmartre.

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The photo was taken by me during my visit to the Musée d'Orsay in May, 2006.

YOUNG GIRL WITH HAT

Young Girl with Hat (1892) by Berthe Morisot

Berthe Morisot identified herself as an impressionist, that group of 19th-century French artists who rebelled against the Salon and the academic works exhibited there. Associated with Monet, Renoir, and Degas, Morisot was included in all but one of the impressionist exhibitions held between 1874 and 1886. Although associated with the renegade group, as a woman Morisot often escaped the unfavorable judgments the other artists received. Most 19th and 20th-century critics focused on the "feminine" qualities in her work: intuitiveness and delicacy.  Morisot is generally considered one of the most important woman painters of the late 19th century.

Morisot achieved significant recognition during her lifetime. Her work was included in George Petit's International Exhibition and in Paul Durand-Ruel's exhibition of impressionist painting in New York, both in 1887.  She was married to Eugène Manet, although previous to her marriage, she was romantically involved with Édouard Manet; the famous painter was her soul mate, but unfortunately married to someone else.

Her works can be found in the museums in Paris and around the world. This painting here is part of the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, and it is one of my favorite paintings. Unfortunately it has not be on view for some time.

Thank you for visiting.

A Great Europe Trip Planner

This photo was taken by me during my visit to the Art Institute of Chicago.