Profile of the Day: Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Do you have any artists in your family tree? Today we celebrate the life of French artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir on his 179th birthday.

Image: Pierre-Auguste Renoir / Bibliothèque national de France

Renoir was born on February 25, 1841 in Limoges, Haute-Vienne, France to a working-class family. As a boy, he worked in a porcelain factory and utilized his talents to paint designs on fine china. Intent on pursuing his craft, Renoir enrolled in art school and often visited the Louvre to study the French master painters.

He spent years as a struggling artist before emerging as a leading painter of the Impressionist movement.

In his late age, Renoir developed rheumatoid arthritis, which severely limited his mobility. He continued to paint until his death in 1919 at the age of 78. Before his death, he had the honor to see one of his own paintings hanging in the Louvre along with the old masters he had admired in his youth.

Explore Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s family tree on Geni and share your connection to the French artist!

View Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s Geni Profile