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

Mr. Colin B. Bailey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 11, 1998

Of all the Impressionists, 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 January 1884 - "a painter of figures." This sumptuously illustrated book is the first devoted exclusively to Renoir's portraiture, bringing together the finest examplesof the portraits he painted during each period of his prolific career. In these delightful paintings Renoir created uniquely endearing and enduring images of pleasure, comfort, and prosperity.

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 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (July 11, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300071345
• ISBN-13: 978-0300071344
• Product Dimensions: 12.3 x 9.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,763,215 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.