Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) was born in France to parents that were middle class. While working in a porcelain factory he began painting designs on products. He studied art under Charles Gleyre in Paris during 1862. In 1874 he had six of his paintings hung in the first Impressionist exhibit which gained him some fame. He is most known for creating Impressionist works that are akin to snapshots of real life. People and landscapes full of light and vibrancy. He and Monet were responsible for the realization that shadows were not gray or black but reflected color. The term, "diffuse" reflection is used to refer to this technique. The two artists were known to create paintings at each other's side depicting the same scenes from their own eye.Though he was severely limited in his old age by arthritis among other ailments, Renoir is still known for being one of the leading artists in the Impressionist movement. There are rumors that near the end he painted with a brush taped to his deformed hands and this isn't true, though he wasn't able to pick it up on his own, he was able to hold a brush right till the end. When he was just a boy he visited the Louvre often and as an aged man he visited to see his paintings displayed amongst some of his favorites. Two of his paintings sold after his death for over 70 million dollars each.
