Celebrated for his portraits and nudes, Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841–1919) is most often associated with figure painting. He was also a lover of nature, however, and an accomplished painter of landscapes.

This exhibition is the first to explore the inventiveness and importance of these landscapes during the first decades of Renoir’s career. Remarkable in their freshness and immediacy, these works of art reveal nature as a deep source of inspiration and demonstrate the artist’s fascination with the effects of outdoor light.

Approximately 60 paintings by Renoir, drawn from public and private collections in the United States and abroad, offer a fresh approach to the French Impressionist’s art. The exhibition begins with works from the 1860s, shortly after the painter met Claude Monet and Alfred Sisley in the studio of Charles Gleyre. It continues into the 1870s, when Renoir’s own landscape style began to emerge, and explores the artist's extensive experimentation with color and composition. The exhibition concludes with paintings from the 1880s, when Renoir’s travels in North Africa and Italy exposed him to new landscape motifs and encouraged his use of an even more intense color palette.

The paintings on view in this exhibition reveal the subtlety of touch; vaporous effects; and lush, full-blown color that mark Renoir as one of the most audacious and original landscape artists of his age.

View teaching materials related to this exhibition.

Sponsors

This exhibition is made possible by GlaxoSmithKline.

Generous support is also provided by Bank of America.

Additional funding is provided by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the City of Philadelphia, The Annenberg Foundation Fund for Major Exhibitions, The Pew Charitable Trusts, and The Robert Montgomery Scott Fund for Exhibitions at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, with major foundation support from the Robert Lehman Foundation. An indemnity is provided by the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. Promotional support is provided by NBC 10 WCAU; The Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News, and Philly.com; and Amtrak.

Organizers

This exhibition is organized by the National Gallery, London, The National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Curators

John Zarobell • Associate Curator of European Painting before 1900, the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Christopher Riopelle • Curator of Nineteenth-Century Paintings, National Gallery, London
Colin B. Bailey • Deputy Director and Chief Curator of the Frick Collection, acting as guest curator for the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa

Location

Dorrance Special Exhibition Galleries, first floor

Itinerary

The National Gallery, London (February 21–May 20, 2007)
The National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa (June 8–September 9, 2007)
The Philadelphia Museum of Art (October 4, 2007–January 6, 2008)