Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841–1919), a leading Impressionist painter was born on February 25, 1841, in Limoges, France. A son of a tailor and a seamstress, he started an apprenticeship with a porcelain painter in his teenage years. He learned to copy designs to decorate plates and other dishware from his master. Then he enrolled in the prestigious Ecole des Beaux-Arts in 1862 and befriended three young artists Frédéric Bazille, Claude Monet and Alfred Sisley. In 1874, he along with his friends decided to exhibit their work on their own, which was later known as the first Impressionist exhibition.

‘Le déjeuner des Canotiers’ (Luncheon of the Boating) (1880–1881) oil on canvas, 51 inches × 68 inches, is Renoir’s outstanding painting depicting a richness of form, a fluidity of brush strokes and a flickering light. It is displayed at The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC. — M.Z.A

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, October 2nd, 2016