Portrait of an Artist: Renoir Trivia Quiz

Answer: Limoges

The family moved to Paris when little Pierre was only 3. Both of his parents were involved in the garment industry, his father as a tailor and his mother as a dressmaker. The lower class status of his family always disturbed Renoir, who aspired to become a bourgeois. This was not only for reasons of vanity, he wished not to be poor!

Answer: Porcelain painting

Renoir's work at the Levy studio helped develop his knowledge of paints, and helped inform his later use of color in his canvas painting. Following his apprentice work with Levy (the studio shut down), Renoir worked with his brother painting fans. He painted after the fashion of the Rococo masters during this period, studying their works during his many visits to the Louvre.

It seems that Watteau was his favorite, his later work being likened to Watteau by some critics.

Answer: Gleyre

It was at Gleyre's studio the following year that Renoir first met his future Impressionist companions Monet, Sisley and Bazille. Whistler was also working in Gleyre's atelier at this time. Can you imagine so much talent in one small workshop?

Answer: La Grenouillère

La Grenouillère, aka The Froggery, was located on the Ile-de-Croissy in the Seine. Working shoulder to shoulder, Renoir and Monet painted virtually the same scenes, with Renoir all-along borrowing Monet's brushstroke style and combining it with his remarkable use of color.

Answer: False

In fact, Renoir was not seriously injured. However, he did suffer badly from dysentery at one point following his joining of the Tenth Cavalry Regiment in 1870. After spending several months recuperating he once again returned to the field and was finally demobilized later in 1871 without having suffered from injury.

His unfortunate friend Bazille was not so lucky, however, having been killed in the fighting in 1870.

Answer: Charpentier

The Charpentiers commissioned quite a number of paintings from Renoir, including his first success at the Salon in 1879, Portrait of Madame Charpentier and her Children. He gained further financial support from the art critic Durand-Ruel, the first major art critic to come out in favor of the Impressionists' works. Durand-Ruel recognized Renoir's genius very early on and later benefited from his good judgment.

Answer: The Umbrellas

The other three paintings: Impression, Sunrise, The Balcony and Boulevard Montmarte by Night, were painted by Monet, Manet and Pissarro, respectively. Renoir painted The Umbrellas before and after his trip to Italy from 1881 to 1882. He went through a profound conversion during the trip, after having viewed the great works of the Italian Renaissance artists.

Answer: Bitter manner

The manière aigre period in his life was one of major experimentation, probably also influenced by his trip to Italy. It was during this time that he struggled with the working of two seemingly irreconcilable styles, the linear and the Impressionist.

Answer: True

Renoir's women, often seen bathing, were indeed quite fleshy. His 1918-19 work called "The Bathers" is a fantastic example of his favorite subject in later life...the female nude!

Answer: Rheumatism

Renoir's arthritis was so bad that he was forced to move to the south of France to continue his work. Even there, he eventually became unable to paint or sculpt, but continued to have young assistants such as Richard Guino sculpt under his direction. He died in 1919, leaving behind a tremendous legacy of work!