Auguste RENOIR (1841-1919) - "Le fleuve Scamandre", 1900, Original engraving

Auguste Renoir : (1841-1919) is one of the most famous french painters. He was born in Limoges on February 25th 1841 and he died at the domaine des Collettes in Cagnes-sur-Mer on December 3rd 1919. He is considered as a full member of the impressionnist group, although his approach became different with the years. Indeed his style eolved in the 1880's towards a more realistic style, under the influence of Raffaelo. He was a painter of nudes, portraits, landscapes, marines, still lifes, genre scenes, pastelist, engraver, lithographer, sculptor and draughtsman. He was a figurative painter, more interested in depicting portraits and feminine nudes than landscapes. He elarborated an original way of painting, which goes beyond his first influences (Fragonard, Courbet, Monet, and italian frescoes). For about 60 years, he produced around 6000 paintings.