 |
| Auguste Renoir Self-portrait ca. 1875 oil on canvas Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts |
 |
| Auguste Renoir Wheatfield 1879 oil on canvas Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid |
 |
| Auguste Renoir Woman with a parasol in a garden 1875 oil on canvas Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid |
The myth of embattled Impressionists defying public taste is particularly porous when applied to Renoir. Fairly early he began to attract an adoring following of picture-buyers, including many Americans. By mid-career a new show could be sold out before it opened. Art writers contrast Renoir's "eagerness to please" with the perceived non-commercialism of Pissarro or Cézanne. In our own age, of course, the work of Auguste Renoir has spawned uncountable posters, mouse-pads, mugs. As my daughter pointed out on Pippa's Cabinet, the original work that generated the merchandise can easily become difficult to envision at all. That is why this selection is devoted to paintings not known to be prominent in reproduction.
 |
| Auguste Renoir Woman on staircase 1876 oil on canvas Hermitage, Saint Petersburg |
 |
| Auguste Renoir Young Girls 1877 oil on canvas Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen |
 |
| Auguste Renoir Portrait of a woman, called Madame Georges Hartmann 1874 oil on canvas Musée d'Orsay, Paris |
 |
| Auguste Renoir Still-life with peaches 1881 oil on canvas Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
 |
| Auguste Renoir Still-life with peaches and grapes 1881 oil on canvas Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
 |
| Auguste Renoir Bouquet of Chrysanthemums 1881 oil on canvas Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
 |
| Auguste Renoir Woman in flowered hat 1892 oil on canvas Hermitage, Saint Petersburg |
 |
| Auguste Renoir Still-life with bouquet 1871 oil on canvas Museum of Fine Arts, Houston |
 |
| Auguste Renoir Bay of Moulin Huet, Guernsey 1883 oil on canvas Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
 |
| Auguste Renoir Girl Reading ca. 1885-95 oil on canvas Museum of Fine Arts, Houston |
 |
| Auguste Renoir Portrait of Claude Monet 1875 oil on canvas Musée d'Orsay, Paris |