Impressionism is my favorite style of painting so I was really enchanted with this biography. Written by Renoir's middle son, Jean, Renoir, My Father not only gives us an intimate look at the life of Auguste Renoir, it gives us an intimate look at the Paris of Renoir's day as well.

As we get to know Renoir we get to know his contemporaries, too. Jean Renoir writes about Monet, Cezanne, Manet, Sisley and many other great artists. We learn many "little known" facts, such as Monet's penchant for lace and his "artful" way with the ladies.

Paris really comes alive in this book. Many of the places Renoir writes about still exist and can be visited today. This book makes any art lover's trip to Paris more meaningful whether he's a Renoir fan or not.

When reading this book, one must remember that this is not a "run of the mill" biography. This is a son writing about the father he adored. The portrait we are given is very intimate, detailed and loving. It's obvious that Jean Renoir adored his father, just as Auguste Renoir adored his family.

Ultimately, this book is a beautiful tribute from a loving son to a father who was one of history's consummate artists. If you have any interest at all in art, this is one book you simply must not pass up. The last page alone will break your heart.

Renoir was far more than one of the world's greatest artists. He was an adventurer, a family man, a man who held interesting views on just about every subject under the sun, and finally, in his later years, a martyr to life. Although this book was written by Renoir's middle son, Jean, it is as vibrant and alive as if Renoir, himself, had just written the words in his own hand. Through this book we learn how the Renoir family left its roots in Limoges and moved to Paris. We read of Renoir's early years as a painter of porcelain and how and why he became an artist, more specifically, an Impressionist. We learn of Renoir's marriage to Aline Charigot of Essoyes, the birth of his three sons and his move to the south of France. Some of the most interesting sections of the book deal with Renoir's feelings about the effect of light on a painting and why he needed to paint in a "natural" setting. Also, most interesting are the chapters on the birth of Impressionism and Renoir's relationships with the other artists of the time, such as Monet, Manet, Sisley and Cezanne, just to name a few. Lovingly and charmingly written, this book truly brings Renoir to life and makes him accessible to all. Absolutely a must for anyone with even a passing interest in art or artists!

Not only is this a book about Renoir, whose tableaux peer out of every other art store on every mall in North America (what a curious fate!), it is also a book about Paris. Born in 1841, Renoir was older than most of the other Impressionists with whom he grew friendly later. He also had the chance to see Paris as it was before the Commune and the war of 1870. He lived a good part of his life on the Butte in Montmartre and it is hard now to recapture the atmosphere up there among the hordes of tourists. Yet early on Sunday mornings with a light rain playing on the umbrellas of the artist's stands in the Place du Tertre, you can wander freely among the memories of the rue Lepic and elsewhere, and catch glimpses of Renoir (and others) as you pass through the old streets. Reading this book first will help.

Jean Renoir is a very famous artist in his own right, having made numerous films and become one of the most acclaimed directors in French cinema history. Here he has taken great pains to paint a fine portrait of his renowned father, this time with a pen. He has succeeded admirably.

As an instructor, this is an excellent CD. It shows many pieces of art and gives information, in audio. Highly recommended for any one interested in art.

This CD is the very best in its class. It is organized in such a way as to make available images, history, anecdotes, and gallery placement with just a click. The variety of choices and the ease of use is breath-taking. You can go into any gallery, look around at all the walls, select a particular painting to learn more about and then jump into a list of all the paintings by that artist or a time line that places that artist into historic context. All CDs from museums or art collections should be this comprehensive and easy to use!

This CD-ROM includes a tour of the Barnes collection as well as an index, archives, history, and fabulous color pictures. The CD is interactive. You can sit back and listen to the tour guide, or you can click your own way through the collection of late nineteenth and early twentieth century paintings. The index to the collection shows a thumb-nail size color shot of the art work listed, which you can click on to see as large as your screen allows. Renoir, Matisse, Modiglianni, and dozens of Cezanne paintings in living color! At your fingertips! Great.

Using simple language book covers Renoir's life & painting career with surprising alacrity & detail. Good prints. Shipped as promised & in excellent shape.

Mike Venezia's book about Pierre Auguste Renoir for the Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists series is as much about the Impressionist movement as it is about Renoir. We see Impressionist paintings by Claude Monet, Alfred Sisley, and Camille Pissarro before we see Renoir's most famous painting, "La Moulin de La Galette." There are also notable paintings from the period by artists other than the Impressionists, which give young readers a better sense of what the Impressionists were rebelling against. This is especially important since Renoir was content to do some paintings in the "old" style, such as "Lise with Sunshade," in order to have works shown at the Salon But the most interesting comparison is between the paintings of the same scene at "La Grenouillere" by Renoir and Monet, which gives you a sense of their distinctive styles as artists, even if you cannot articulate the differences in artistic terms. As always in this series, Venezia tells the story of Renoir's life, using not only the art of the times but his own cartoons to illustrate the important and fun moments. The one portrait of Renoir in the book is done by Frederic Brazille (although I think he did a self-portrait of the back of his head in one of the paintings). What I will remember most is how Renoir abandoned the Impressionist style just as the movement found acceptance and how he told a friend, just before he died, "I think I'm beginning to understand something about painting." Renoir has never been one of my favorite Impressionist artists, but I enjoyed learning about how he spent his entire life experimenting as an artist and trying different things. That lesson is probably the most important one budding young artists can pick up from this entertaining and educating book. Of course, I heartily recommend this entire series of introductions to the world's greatest artists by Venezia.

"Occasionally, Renoir would paint landscapes and still lifes, but his favorite subjects were always people.", p. 29

The young reader will learn about Renoir's birth in Limoges, France; his family's move to Paris when he was young; his early drawings using his tailor father's chalk; his working years in a workshop painting decorations on china; his learning the formal method of painting in the studio of Charles Gleyre; and his participation in the creation of the "Impressionism".

Renoir was a rarity in that he was successful at painting in many styles. He was very versatile. Most painters lock themselves into a painting method and stick with it for awhile. All their paintings during that period of time use the same method. Renoir locked into what he painting and let it determine the method. If he were painting outdoors, he would choose impressionism with an emphasis on people having a good time more so than the outdoor setting. If he were doing a portrait, he would typically choose the older style but with less formality. His chose of method would be similar to a photographer choosing to use black and white film for certain shots and color film for others. Children are very sensitive to their surroundings. Their response can at time be instantaneous. They go with the moment and therefore will appreciate Renoir's similar approach.

My favorite painting in the book is Renoir's "Umbrellas". He let the figures chose the method. He chose impressionism for the more formally attired, and he utilized a more formal method for the less formally dressed woman on errands with her basket.

Venezia's illustrations are humorous. His narrative is delightfully entertaining. His approach brings the artist within reach of the young. His embellishment of the variety of surfaces on which the young Renoir chose to draw with chalk is creatively done.

The size of the book is perfect for smaller hands. It enables the young to have art within their grasp. Venezia gives the locations of the paintings and as result if the child lives near one of the museums or will be near one on vacation, she/he would be able to see the original.

This is the 20th in Venezia's "Getting to know the World's Greatest Artist" series. His series is a wonderful way for the young to be first introduced to the brilliance of artists. He also has a similar series on composers. Venezia's back cover illustration ties back to the subject. "While studying Renoir and the Impressionist movement of the 19th century, Mike was inspired to ...".

The price of the book is well worth paying. Venezia includes pieces by the artist, pieces by the artist's colleagues and art styles referenced. The book contains the following: Renoir's paintings (16); Venezia's illustrations (6); Others' paintings (8) and paintings on a vase (1).

Aptly translated into English by Frank J. Morlock, The Man In The Iron Mask: A Drama In Five Acts by the combined and collaborate efforts of Alexandre Dumas, Narcisse Fournier, and Auguste Arnould is an impressive stage play based upon historical records of a mysterious masked prisoner. Author Alexandre Dumas was so fascinated by speculations of the prisoner's identity that he transformed the enigma first into a stage play, and later into the final novel of his Musketeers series. Exciting and involving, The Man In The Iron Mask is an absolute "must" for fans of Dumas and his work!

Dumas doesn't pull any punches with this (recently discovered) play. This story is bleak, and has many elements of Greek tragedy. This is tragedy in the classic sense -- circumstances occur that do not cause an immediate problem (the birth of twin Princes to the Queen) -- but which clearly will lead to some sort of anguish (potential civil war, one child potentially losing his freedom, etc) -- and the reader/audience is watches this tragedy play itself out. The (first ever) translation is direct, and dramatic. The volume also includes an essay Dumas wrote, exploring the many theories about the real identity of the masked prisoner from the Bastille -- powerfull and fascinating stuff.

this book is brilliant. it captures perfectly the obsession of the french decadent movement with the female and what the male will do to control "woman." I will not give away any details of the story, but i must say the female as vampiric, hysterical, and simply put, sick, is what the character of thomas edison in this novel tries to put an end to by making his own version of "the female" that will be better suited to the world and society, but actually selfishly, to the needs of the male, and in particular mr. edison in the novel. it is a brilliant novel and i recommend THE DECADENT READER, from which i read this novel, it contains more unknown and unfortunately unread literature from this extremely fascinating movement at the end of the nineteenth century.

This little known novel is a masterpiece of Decadent literature (a brief movement localized in France around the turn of the last century that was influenced mainly by the poetry of Baudelaire and the theories of evolution put forth by Darwin). It tells the story of a fictionalized Edison who builds a female cyborg to exist in place of the unattainable love object of a tortured young man. She is animated by the spirit of a ghost and has the appearance of a Venus statue. Villiers, in the decadent tradition, lauds artifice above "nature," writing characters who traverse the world of illusion as that which is more real than real, a world in which appearance and the material are everything. This book might be of particular interest to feminists: Villiers only writes women as artifical beings, hysterics, ghosts, objects of fetishism. This book is a must read for any one interested in metaphysics and the rhetoric of "image" versus "being."

The book was easy to read and adressed everyday situations and mind sets. I was very impressed with the practical nature of the book as well as the revelation into scripture verses.

Spanish translation of a lovely little picture book which tells a story about Renoir - represented by a toy bear. The pictures are beautiful for children - very bright and interesting, each done in the style of Renoir (Mr Bear is in each picture). The translation seems to be well done.

It's a very nice story for young children who like bears, but not very much information about Renoir. Most useful as a story book or to give children a taste of "art."

Images Of Desire: Erotic Watercolors And Cut-Outs showcases the erotic watercolor illustrations and cut-out artwork by Auguste Rodin, the famed French artist most commonly known through his sculptures. A brief introduction by Anne-Marie Bonnet adds pensive thought on these minimalist, somewhat abstract yet undeniably sensual and sexual artworks celebrating pleasure and love. Intense imagery evokes passion out of the simplest lines. The full color reproductions are superbly presented and make Images Of Desire a welcome and highly recommended addition to personal, academic, and community library Art History and Art Appreciation reference collections.

This postcard collection showcases Auguste Rodin's beautiful sculptures. While it's better to see them in real life, the postcards are a fabulous way to familiarize yourself with his work and to admire it anywhere you like.

This book was given to me by a beautiful person and it is a beautiful book. It has the mystery and the decadence of my little Anne. Read the count Vera and think about your lost loves.