25th February: Pierre Auguste Renoir

On this date in 1841, Pierre Auguste Renoir, the French impressionist artist, was born. Here are some facts about Renoir that you may not know.

1. Pierre-Auguste Renoir was born in Limoges, Haute-Vienne, France, but his family moved to Paris when he was about three.
2. Had his family been better off, he might have become a singer rather than an artist. As a boy, he was arguably better at singing than drawing and had lessons with Charles Gounod, who was the choir-master at the Church of St Roch. However, his family couldn't afford the Music lessons, so at thirteen, he had to discontinue them and go out to work as an apprentice at a porcelain factory.
3. He proved to be very good at painting designs on porcelain and he started taking art lessons - which also almost had to stop when the factory began using mechanical methods and Renoir was made redundant. After that, he supported himself by painting decorations on fans and wall hangings.
4. He used to sit and paint on the banks of the Seine, which led to the Communards thinking he was a spy. He might have ended up being thrown in the river but Raoul Rigault, one of the Commune's leaders, recognised him as someone who had done him a favour once and was able to assure the others he was an artist not a spy.
5. In 1874, Renoir displayed six paintings at the first Impressionist exhibition, along with Monet, Sisley, Pissarro, and several other artists. In general, the exhibition wasn't well received by the critics, but they liked Renoir's paintings.
6. Renoir was a friend of Claude Monet, and they shared digs for a while. They'd paint together, too, sometimes producing paintings that were virtually identical.
7. In 1890, he married Aline Victorine Charigot. His three sons all went into creative careers, too - Pierre Renoir Jr was an actor, Jean Renoir a filmmaker and Claude Renoir a ceramic artist. The filmmaker Claude Renoir was his grandson.
8. Renoir met the composer Richard Wagner at his home in Palermo, Sicily. Renoir painted Wagner's portrait - it took him thirty-five minutes.
9. Renoir broke his right arm after falling from a bike and for a time had to paint with his left.
10. In his later years he developed severe rheumatoid arthritis and could barely move, but he carried on painting. It's often said he had to use a brush strapped to his hands with bandages but this is a myth. He could still hold the brush but probably needed someone to pick it up and put it in his hand.

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