Gilles Neret. Renoir: Painter of Happiness

Pierre Auguste Renoir is now universally acclaimed: museums pride themselves on his paintings, crowds flock to his retrospectives. His work shows art at its most light-hearted, sensual and luminous. Renoir never wanted anything ugly in his paintings, nor any dramatic action. "I like pictures which make me want to wander through them when it's a landscape," he said, "or pass my hand over breast or back if it's a woman." Renoir's entire oeuvre is dominated by the depiction of women. Again and again he painted "these faunesses with their pouting lips" (Mallarme) and invented a new image of feminity.

A detailed chronological summary of the artist's life and work, covering the cultural and historical importance of the artist;

Approximately 100 color illustrations with explanatory captions;

A concise biography.