Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Clock surrounded by gilt-bronze sculptures of flowers, two babies, and doves
Reading List: Explore Frick Artists Online
While the Frick Art Research Library is closed for renovations, explore a list of e-books and other online resources from the library that offer deep dives into a wide range of artists and artworks from the Frick’s permanent collection.
oil painting of mother with two girls, one with doll
Renoir, Impressionism, and Full-Length Painting
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In early 2012, The Frick Collection presented an exhibition of nine iconic Impressionist paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, offering the first comprehensive study of the artist's engagement with the full-length format, which was associated with the official Paris Salon in the decade that saw the emergence of a fully fledged Impressionist aesthetic.

painting of woman in pink dress and man dancing outdoors, with others seated behind them
First Comprehensive Study of Renoir's Full-Length Canvases Brings Together Iconic Works from Europe and the U.S. For an Exclusive New York City Exhibition.
closeup of painting of man and woman dancing in formal wear
Advance Schedule of Exhibitions Through Winter 2013
painting of a woman with two small girls in matching blue fur trimmed coats walking in a garden
Media Alert: Renoir Exhibition in Early 2012
Link to video of Colin B. Bailey and Charlotte Hale lecture
Colin B. Bailey and Charlotte Hale: "Secrets of Renoir's 'La Promenade' Revealed"

"Up and Down the Garden Path: Secrets of La Promenade Revealed," by Colin B. Bailey, The Frick Collection, and Charlotte Hale, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Saturday, May 5, 2012.  The Frick's Promenade is the most important Impressionist painting acquired by Henry Clay Frick. In researching this well-known work for the exhibition Renoir, Impressionism, and Full-Length Painting, many technical and documentary discoveries were made.

Link to video of Aileen Ribeiro lecture
Aileen Ribeiro: "Renoir and the Democracy of Fashion"

Alex Gordon Lecture in the History of Art: "Renoir and the Democracy of Fashion," by Aileen Ribeiro, Courtauld Institute of Art, London, March 28, 2012.  The period after the fall of the Second Empire in France saw huge developments in the fashion industry, not just in haute couture, but also in the greater availability of ready-to-wear clothes and in the emergence of Paris's shopping culture. More people than ever before expressed an interest in fashion trends, a phenomenon that was reflected in contemporary art and literature.

Link to video of Colin B. Bailey about Renoir for WNYC
NYC-ARTS Curator's Choice: Renoir Exhibition

There is a long tradition in Western European art of the full-length format. The Frick's Colin B. Bailey examines the sort of art Renoir was looking back to when, during the 1870s and early '80s, as a founding Impressionist, he chose this format to paint some of his most joyful and ambitious pictures of everyday life in the metropolis.

Link to video of Anne Distel lecture
Anne Distel: "Renoir and the Woman of Paris"

"Renoir and the Woman of Paris," by Anne Distel, independent scholar, March 7, 2012. In characterizing Renoir's art, Cézanne once said that his old friend had "painted the woman of Paris." Cézanne's insight provides the point of departure for this lecture, which takes a closer look at Renoir's female figures.

Link to video of Gloria Groom lecture
Gloria Groom: "Fashioning the Mistress"

"Fashioning the Mistress," by Gloria Groom, The Art Institute of Chicago, February 22, 2012.  Between 1866 and 1872 Renoir featured his mistress Lise Tréhot in more than thirty paintings, ranging from small and intimate genre scenes to the full-length canvases that he exhibited. Tréhot, wearing the most up-to-the-minute fashions, served as Renoir's calling card by advertising the artist as a painter of modern life, and especially of the fashionable Parisienne.