Renoir's Portraits: Impressions of an Age [Hardcover]

Mr. Colin B. Bailey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 25, 1997

Of all the Impressionist artists, only Pierre Auguste Renoir earned distinction as a professional portrait painter. For more than fifty years Renoir explored the genre of portraiture, experimenting and pressing forward in his determination to become -- as he explained to Monet in 1884 -- "a painter of figures". This sumptuously illustrated book is the first devoted exclusively to Renoir's portraiture, and in it are gathered the finest examples of the portraits he painted during each period of his prolific career. In these delightful paintings Renoir creates uniquely endearing and enduring images of pleasure, comfort, and prosperity.

In introductory essays, the authors investigate Renoir's career as a portrait painter, the importance of portraiture within the work of his fellow Impressionists, and one of Renoir's keenest collectors -- a man who commissioned two portraits of his wife and was part of the milieu that sustained the artist in the middle years of his career. In addition, Colin Bailey has reconstructed the biographies of all the figures represented in the portraits in this volume and offers new information on the families and subsequent careers of Renoir's subjects, drawing on unpublished sources in Parisian and provincial archives and on material discovered in the collections of subjects' descendants. Previously unpublished photographs of Renoir's models are also included, underscoring the high degree of authenticity and fidelity to .appearances that is the hallmark of Renoir's portrait style. Renoir Portraits is not only a feast for the eye, it is sure to become the standard book on the subject for years to come.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The pleasure Bailey obviously takes in setting out in detail the life stories of Renoir's subjects--we learn of Mlle. Legrand's two marriages, her children, her jobs, etc.--reveals him as a traditionalist who believes that facts count. The reader will find no signs of the current preoccupation with "theory" (and, blessedly, none of its jargon), and little in the way of psychological or social interpretation. Bailey assumes that the more we know about Renoir's sitters the more we will understand his pictures; but he often fails even to try to relate this information to any perception of Renoir's brushwork, color, and composition. In most entries, it is true, the attentive reader will find evocative and gracefully written descriptive passages.... -- The New York Review of Books, Robert L. Herbert

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press; exhibition catalog edition (June 25, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300071337
• ISBN-13: 978-0300071337
• Product Dimensions: 12.3 x 9.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,493,486 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Renoir's portraits and their history beautifully done, January 20, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Renoir's Portraits: Impressions of an Age (Hardcover)

You like Renoir's work but also want the story behind the paintings. Search no further. This book will impress the serious collector or art historian with the in-depth research on each piece. This book will be enjoyed by newcomers to art appreciation with it's beautiful and large paintings. If you have several books of Renoir's work and haven't purchased this one yet, you don't have the best.

The authors display the artwork wonderfully, each picture's history in detail, and follow-up with extensive notes and references. Treat yourself.