| One of the most famous of the French Impressionists, Renoir began as a painter on porcelain and the themes he used were borrowed from Watteau and Boucher which was to influence his choice of subject matter for his impressionist paintings. In 1862 he studied with Charles Gleyre. From 1870 onwards he obtained a number of portrait commissions and from 1874 he started exhibiting with the Impressionists. A visit to Italy in 1880 introduced him to the influence of Ingres and Raphael.
His etchings received great acclaim. In later life his hands were crippled by arthritis yet he never ceased to develop his use of colours to portray his figures in subtle light |
