Apres Le Bain,
by Renoir

Today is the 166th anniversary of the birth of Auguste Renoir, the famed Impressionist painter who first painted small children and beautiful flowers. He was quoted as saying, “Why shouldn’t art be pretty? There are enough unpleasant things in the world.”
When later in his life, he celebrated his appreciation of the classical female form by painting nudes, he said, “I never think I have finished a nude until I think I could pinch it.
Bradenton Herald | 02/25/2007 | Library sheds light on artists:

a tad late but I definitely appreciate Renoir’s sentiments, it’s frequently how I feel about my nudes (especially the booty).

I am not a huge impressionist fan. at the risk of alienating you all, I think many popular impressionist pieces lack depth and are even, dare I say, insipid. yes sling your arrows, I am a disappointment to my profession, etc etc..

That having been said, Impressionism did a lot for art. the concepts behind the movement are still very much in evidence today. the use of color and light was unparalleled and revolutionized the industry bringing in new ways of looking at things and new techniques to explore. For me, the key artists were Degas and Renoir, their figurative pieces had feeling and emotion. Renoir always appeared, to me, as the bridge between the rather insipid impressionist landscapes and the deep and heady figurative works of Degas. His figurative techniques revolutionized the genre and inspired many figurative artists to explore the nude more.

Tags: Art, art history, nudes, renoir