Renoir. Between Bohème and Bourgeoisie

The Kunstmuseum Basel will be exhibiting paintings from the early years of Auguste Renoir from the 1st April to the 12th August 2012. Renoir was one of the group of French painters who founded Impressionism. With a bright palette, light brushwork, motives from modern city life and leisure time among nature, he and his fellow artists wrote art history. As a result, it is often only the impressionist phase or the later works of Renoir’s oeuvre that are generally considered. In a major retrospective exhibition, the Kunstmuseum Basel is now placing the focus for the first time ever on the outstanding artistry and surprising complexity of the artist’s early works, up to the major impressionist paintings of the 1870’s.

Renoirs most important model in the early years was his mistress Lise Tréhot, who posed for a number of important works. This group forms a highlight of the exhibition, and indicates the range of Renoir’s first decade of work. A separate group consists of the portraits of his closest artist friends, such as Frédéric Bazille, Claude Monet and Alfred Sisley.

50 paintings – portraits, landscapes and still lives – including major works from great museum collections such as the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, the National Gallery in London, the Metropolitan Museum in New York and the Art Institute of Chicago, as well as less well-known works from private collections - provide a magnificent and extensive insight into the artistically decisive early years of Renoir.

More information here