Renoir Landscapes: 1865-1883

By Shelley Esaak
Updated on January 08, 2020

We all know and love Pierre-Auguste Renoir as a preeminent painter of people, but often overlook his landscapes. This is a mistake for, as Renoir Landscapes: 1865-1883 illustrates, the artist originally developed his superbly innovative color palette in the freedom of the outdoors. Additionally, it was landscape painting that first allowed Renoir to loosen his brushwork and speed up the tempo of his work. A strong argument is here made that, lacking the landscape experience he enjoyed in the first two decades of his career, we'd all be looking at very different Renoirs in years since.

Renoir Landscapes: 1865-1883 was organized jointly by the National Gallery, London, The National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and contained more than 60 works from public and private collections from the United States, Europe and around the world. A selection of images from the exhibition is hereby provided for your viewing pleasure.

01
of 21

A Clearing in the Woods, 1865

© The Detroit Institute of Arts; used with permission
© The Detroit Institute of Arts

During the first two decades of his career as a painter, Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) learned a lot about his craft by doing landscape paintings. Perhaps because he was freed from the concern of representing humans (friends or patrons who might, possibly, have been offended), Renoir performed his most audacious experiments in light, color, form (or lack thereof) and brushwork on uncomplaining scenes of woods, gardens, water, and land. This freedom of expression and his bold innovation as a colorist out-of-doors inevitably found their ways into the figure paintings for which Renoir is so beloved.

Renoir Landscapes: 1865-1883 takes a comprehensive look at these landscape experiences through 60-some loans from public and private collections in the US, Europe and around the globe.

Scheduled Venues

02
of 21

La Grenouillère, 1869

© The National Art Museums of Sweden; used with permission
© The National Art Museums of Sweden

During the first two decades of his career as a painter, Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) learned a lot about his craft by doing landscape paintings. Perhaps because he was freed from the concern of representing humans (friends or patrons who might, possibly, have been offended), Renoir performed his most audacious experiments in light, color, form (or lack thereof) and brushwork on uncomplaining scenes of woods, gardens, water, and land. This freedom of expression and his bold innovation as a colorist out-of-doors inevitably found their ways into the figure paintings for which Renoir is so beloved.

Renoir Landscapes: 1865-1883 takes a comprehensive look at these landscape experiences through 60-some loans from public and private collections in the US, Europe and around the globe.

Scheduled Venues

03
of 21

Le Pont Neuf, 1872

© National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. Image 2005 Board of Trustees; used with permission
© National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. Image 2005 Board of Trustees

During the first two decades of his career as a painter, Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) learned a lot about his craft by doing landscape paintings. Perhaps because he was freed from the concern of representing humans (friends or patrons who might, possibly, have been offended), Renoir performed his most audacious experiments in light, color, form (or lack thereof) and brushwork on uncomplaining scenes of woods, gardens, water, and land. This freedom of expression and his bold innovation as a colorist out-of-doors inevitably found their ways into the figure paintings for which Renoir is so beloved.

Renoir Landscapes: 1865-1883 takes a comprehensive look at these landscape experiences through 60-some loans from public and private collections in the US, Europe and around the globe.

Scheduled Venues

04
of 21

The Harvesters, 1873

© Private collection, Switzerland; used with permission
© Private collection, Switzerland

During the first two decades of his career as a painter, Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) learned a lot about his craft by doing landscape paintings. Perhaps because he was freed from the concern of representing humans (friends or patrons who might, possibly, have been offended), Renoir performed his most audacious experiments in light, color, form (or lack thereof) and brushwork on uncomplaining scenes of woods, gardens, water, and land. This freedom of expression and his bold innovation as a colorist out-of-doors inevitably found their ways into the figure paintings for which Renoir is so beloved.

Renoir Landscapes: 1865-1883 takes a comprehensive look at these landscape experiences through 60-some loans from public and private collections in the US, Europe and around the globe.

Scheduled Venues

05
of 21

Claude Monet painting in his Garden at Argenteuil, about 1873

© Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, Connecticut; used with permission
© Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, Connecticut

During the first two decades of his career as a painter, Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) learned a lot about his craft by doing landscape paintings. Perhaps because he was freed from the concern of representing humans (friends or patrons who might, possibly, have been offended), Renoir performed his most audacious experiments in light, color, form (or lack thereof) and brushwork on uncomplaining scenes of woods, gardens, water and land. This freedom of expression and his bold innovation as a colorist out-of-doors inevitably found their ways into the figure paintings for which Renoir is so beloved.

Renoir Landscapes: 1865-1883 takes a comprehensive look at these landscape experiences through 60-some loans from public and private collections in the US, Europe and around the globe.

Scheduled Venues

06
of 21

Duck Pond, 1873

© Private collection; used with permission
© Private collection

During the first two decades of his career as a painter, Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) learned a lot about his craft by doing landscape paintings. Perhaps because he was freed from the concern of representing humans (friends or patrons who might, possibly, have been offended), Renoir performed his most audacious experiments in light, color, form (or lack thereof) and brushwork on uncomplaining scenes of woods, gardens, water, and land. This freedom of expression and his bold innovation as a colorist out-of-doors inevitably found their ways into the figure paintings for which Renoir is so beloved.

Renoir Landscapes: 1865-1883 takes a comprehensive look at these landscape experiences through 60-some loans from public and private collections in the US, Europe and around the globe.

Scheduled Venues

07
of 21

Springtime (in Chatou), also known as Spring at Chatou, about 1875

© Private collection; used with permission
© Private collection

During the first two decades of his career as a painter, Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) learned a lot about his craft by doing landscape paintings. Perhaps because he was freed from the concern of representing humans (friends or patrons who might, possibly, have been offended), Renoir performed his most audacious experiments in light, color, form (or lack thereof) and brushwork on uncomplaining scenes of woods, gardens, water, and land. This freedom of expression and his bold innovation as a colorist out-of-doors inevitably found their ways into the figure paintings for which Renoir is so beloved.

Renoir Landscapes: 1865-1883 takes a comprehensive look at these landscape experiences through 60-some loans from public and private collections in the US, Europe and around the globe.

Scheduled Venues

Claude Monet (French, 1840-1926). Impression, Sunrise, 1873. Oil on canvas. 48 x 63 cm (18 7/8 x 24 13/16 in.).
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08
of 21

Les Grands Boulevards, 1875

© Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania; used with permission
© Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania

During the first two decades of his career as a painter, Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) learned a lot about his craft by doing landscape paintings. Perhaps because he was freed from the concern of representing humans (friends or patrons who might, possibly, have been offended), Renoir performed his most audacious experiments in light, color, form (or lack thereof) and brushwork on uncomplaining scenes of woods, gardens, water, and land. This freedom of expression and his bold innovation as a colorist out-of-doors inevitably found their ways into the figure paintings for which Renoir is so beloved.

Renoir Landscapes: 1865-1883 takes a comprehensive look at these landscape experiences through 60-some loans from public and private collections in the US, Europe and around the globe.

Scheduled Venues

09
of 21

Le Pont de Chatou, 1875

© Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts; used with permission
© Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts

During the first two decades of his career as a painter, Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) learned a lot about his craft by doing landscape paintings. Perhaps because he was freed from the concern of representing humans (friends or patrons who might, possibly, have been offended), Renoir performed his most audacious experiments in light, color, form (or lack thereof) and brushwork on uncomplaining scenes of woods, gardens, water, and land. This freedom of expression and his bold innovation as a colorist out-of-doors inevitably found their ways into the figure paintings for which Renoir is so beloved.

Renoir Landscapes: 1865-1883 takes a comprehensive look at these landscape experiences through 60-some loans from public and private collections in the US, Europe and around the globe.

Scheduled Venues

10
of 21

The Skiff (La Yole), 1875

© The National Gallery, London; used with ppermission
© The National Gallery, London

During the first two decades of his career as a painter, Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) learned a lot about his craft by doing landscape paintings. Perhaps because he was freed from the concern of representing humans (friends or patrons who might, possibly, have been offended), Renoir performed his most audacious experiments in light, color, form (or lack thereof) and brushwork on uncomplaining scenes of woods, gardens, water, and land. This freedom of expression and his bold innovation as a colorist out-of-doors inevitably found their ways into the figure paintings for which Renoir is so beloved.

Renoir Landscapes: 1865-1883 takes a comprehensive look at these landscape experiences through 60-some loans from public and private collections in the US, Europe and around the globe.

Scheduled Venues

11
of 21

Lunch at the Restaurant Fournaise (The Rowers' Lunch), 1875

© The Art Institute of Chicago. Photo Robert Hashimoto; used with permission
© The Art Institute of Chicago. Photo Robert Hashimoto

During the first two decades of his career as a painter, Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) learned a lot about his craft by doing landscape paintings. Perhaps because he was freed from the concern of representing humans (friends or patrons who might, possibly, have been offended), Renoir performed his most audacious experiments in light, color, form (or lack thereof) and brushwork on uncomplaining scenes of woods, gardens, water and land. This freedom of expression and his bold innovation as a colorist out-of-doors inevitably found their ways into the figure paintings for which Renoir is so beloved.

Renoir Landscapes: 1865-1883 takes a comprehensive look at these landscape experiences through 60-some loans from public and private collections in the US, Europe and around the globe.

Scheduled Venues

12
of 21

Garden in the rue Cortot, Montmartre, 1876

© Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; used with permission
© Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh

During the first two decades of his career as a painter, Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) learned a lot about his craft by doing landscape paintings. Perhaps because he was freed from the concern of representing humans (friends or patrons who might, possibly, have been offended), Renoir performed his most audacious experiments in light, color, form (or lack thereof) and brushwork on uncomplaining scenes of woods, gardens, water, and land. This freedom of expression and his bold innovation as a colorist out-of-doors inevitably found their ways into the figure paintings for which Renoir is so beloved.

Renoir Landscapes: 1865-1883 takes a comprehensive look at these landscape experiences through 60-some loans from public and private collections in the US, Europe and around the globe.

Scheduled Venues

13
of 21

Landscape at Wargemont, 1879

© The Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio; used with permission
© The Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio

During the first two decades of his career as a painter, Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) learned a lot about his craft by doing landscape paintings. Perhaps because he was freed from the concern of representing humans (friends or patrons who might, possibly, have been offended), Renoir performed his most audacious experiments in light, color, form (or lack thereof) and brushwork on uncomplaining scenes of woods, gardens, water, and land. This freedom of expression and his bold innovation as a colorist out-of-doors inevitably found their ways into the figure paintings for which Renoir is so beloved.

Renoir Landscapes: 1865-1883 takes a comprehensive look at these landscape experiences through 60-some loans from public and private collections in the US, Europe and around the globe.

Scheduled Venues

14
of 21

The Wave, 1879

© The Art Institute of Chicago; used with permission
© The Art Institute of Chicago

During the first two decades of his career as a painter, Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) learned a lot about his craft by doing landscape paintings. Perhaps because he was freed from the concern of representing humans (friends or patrons who might, possibly, have been offended), Renoir performed his most audacious experiments in light, color, form (or lack thereof) and brushwork on uncomplaining scenes of woods, gardens, water, and land. This freedom of expression and his bold innovation as a colorist out-of-doors inevitably found their ways into the figure paintings for which Renoir is so beloved.

Renoir Landscapes: 1865-1883 takes a comprehensive look at these landscape experiences through 60-some loans from public and private collections in the US, Europe and around the globe.

Scheduled Venues

15
of 21

Field of Banana Trees Near Algiers, 1881

© RMN, Paris. Photo Hervé Lewandowski; used with permission
Musée d'Orsay, Paris © RMN, Paris. Photo Hervé Lewandowski

During the first two decades of his career as a painter, Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) learned a lot about his craft by doing landscape paintings. Perhaps because he was freed from the concern of representing humans (friends or patrons who might, possibly, have been offended), Renoir performed his most audacious experiments in light, color, form (or lack thereof) and brushwork on uncomplaining scenes of woods, gardens, water, and land. This freedom of expression and his bold innovation as a colorist out-of-doors inevitably found their ways into the figure paintings for which Renoir is so beloved.

Renoir Landscapes: 1865-1883 takes a comprehensive look at these landscape experiences through 60-some loans from public and private collections in the US, Europe and around the globe.

Scheduled Venues

16
of 21

The Jardin d'Essai, Algiers, 1881

© MGM MIRAGE Corporate Collection (157); used with permission
© MGM MIRAGE Corporate Collection (157)

During the first two decades of his career as a painter, Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) learned a lot about his craft by doing landscape paintings. Perhaps because he was freed from the concern of representing humans (friends or patrons who might, possibly, have been offended), Renoir performed his most audacious experiments in light, color, form (or lack thereof) and brushwork on uncomplaining scenes of woods, gardens, water and land. This freedom of expression and his bold innovation as a colorist out-of-doors inevitably found their ways into the figure paintings for which Renoir is so beloved.

Renoir Landscapes: 1865-1883 takes a comprehensive look at these landscape experiences through 60-some loans from public and private collections in the US, Europe and around the globe.

Scheduled Venues

17
of 21

Algerian Landscape, "The Ravine of the Wild Woman", 1881

Musée d'Orsay, Paris © RMN, Paris; used with permission
Musée d'Orsay, Paris © RMN, Paris

During the first two decades of his career as a painter, Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) learned a lot about his craft by doing landscape paintings. Perhaps because he was freed from the concern of representing humans (friends or patrons who might, possibly, have been offended), Renoir performed his most audacious experiments in light, color, form (or lack thereof) and brushwork on uncomplaining scenes of woods, gardens, water and land. This freedom of expression and his bold innovation as a colorist out-of-doors inevitably found their ways into the figure paintings for which Renoir is so beloved.

Renoir Landscapes: 1865-1883 takes a comprehensive look at these landscape experiences through 60-some loans from public and private collections in the US, Europe and around the globe.

Scheduled Venues

18
of 21

Venice, the Doge's Palace, 1881

© Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts; used with permission
© Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts

During the first two decades of his career as a painter, Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) learned a lot about his craft by doing landscape paintings. Perhaps because he was freed from the concern of representing humans (friends or patrons who might, possibly, have been offended), Renoir performed his most audacious experiments in light, color, form (or lack thereof) and brushwork on uncomplaining scenes of woods, gardens, water, and land. This freedom of expression and his bold innovation as a colorist out-of-doors inevitably found their ways into the figure paintings for which Renoir is so beloved.

Renoir Landscapes: 1865-1883 takes a comprehensive look at these landscape experiences through 60-some loans from public and private collections in the US, Europe and around the globe.

Scheduled Venues

19
of 21

Piazza San Marco, Venice, 1881

© The Minneapolis Institute of Arts; used with permission
© The Minneapolis Institute of Arts

During the first two decades of his career as a painter, Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) learned a lot about his craft by doing landscape paintings. Perhaps because he was freed from the concern of representing humans (friends or patrons who might, possibly, have been offended), Renoir performed his most audacious experiments in light, color, form (or lack thereof) and brushwork on uncomplaining scenes of woods, gardens, water, and land. This freedom of expression and his bold innovation as a colorist out-of-doors inevitably found their ways into the figure paintings for which Renoir is so beloved.

Renoir Landscapes: 1865-1883 takes a comprehensive look at these landscape experiences through 60-some loans from public and private collections in the US, Europe and around the globe.

Scheduled Venues

20
of 21

The Bay of Naples (Morning), 1881

© The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; used with permission
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

During the first two decades of his career as a painter, Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) learned a lot about his craft by doing landscape paintings. Perhaps because he was freed from the concern of representing humans (friends or patrons who might, possibly, have been offended), Renoir performed his most audacious experiments in light, color, form (or lack thereof) and brushwork on uncomplaining scenes of woods, gardens, water, and land. This freedom of expression and his bold innovation as a colorist out-of-doors inevitably found their ways into the figure paintings for which Renoir is so beloved.

Renoir Landscapes: 1865-1883 takes a comprehensive look at these landscape experiences through 60-some loans from public and private collections in the US, Europe and around the globe.

Scheduled Venues

21
of 21

Fog on Guernsey, 1883

© Cincinnati Art Museum; used with permission
© Cincinnati Art Museum

During the first two decades of his career as a painter, Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) learned a lot about his craft by doing landscape paintings. Perhaps because he was freed from the concern of representing humans (friends or patrons who might, possibly, have been offended), Renoir performed his most audacious experiments in light, color, form (or lack thereof) and brushwork on uncomplaining scenes of woods, gardens, water, and land. This freedom of expression and his bold innovation as a colorist out-of-doors inevitably found their ways into the figure paintings for which Renoir is so beloved.

Renoir Landscapes: 1865-1883 takes a comprehensive look at these landscape experiences through 60-some loans from public and private collections in the US, Europe and around the globe.

Scheduled Venues

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Esaak, Shelley. "Renoir Landscapes: 1865-1883." ThoughtCo, Aug. 25, 2020, thoughtco.com/gallery-renoir-landscapes-4122802. Esaak, Shelley. (2020, August 25). Renoir Landscapes: 1865-1883. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/gallery-renoir-landscapes-4122802 Esaak, Shelley. "Renoir Landscapes: 1865-1883." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/gallery-renoir-landscapes-4122802 (accessed May 15, 2024).