Strokes of Genius: Renoirs’ Art Opens in April at the State Museum
An exhibition featuring artworks by Alexandre Renoir and his ancestor, renowned French Impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir, will open at the museum on April 15. The exhibit, entitled Strokes of Genius: The Works of Pierre-Auguste & Alexandre Renoir —Art from Private Collections will include not only Alexandre Renoir’s work, and that of his great-grandfather, but seldom seen artwork from the private collections of Pierre-Auguste Renoir and friends. This includes Impressionist work from the great artists of that period — Mary Cassatt, Paul Cezanne, Edouard Manet, Camille Pissarro, and Jean-Fran Raffaelli.
Alexandre Renoir was born in 1974 in Cagnes Sur Mer in the south of France. When he was four, his family moved to Canada. He grew up surrounded by masterful art and creative artists. Alexandre Renoir’s works on paper and canvas are created with the same sense of ease and grace, which are reminiscent of the beauty and charm of his great-grandfather’s Impressionistic work.
Artistic from a young age, Alexandre attended various arts-oriented schools. In addition to his formal education, he also took classes at the Alberta Museum on Aboriginal Arts and Crafts, where he garnered experience in sculpture, pottery, woodworking, stone carving, photography and painting.
Although he was immersed in the arts and culture of his environment, Alexandre remained primarily an onlooker until his drawing abilities were tapped by his brother Emmanuel. During a visit to California, Emmanuel gave Alexandre some drawing paper and challenged him to draw with charcoal. The results were impressive, delighting both Alexandre and his brother.
From the first sheet, Alexandre could naturally draw in a variety of styles; his charcoal drawings exhibit a fluid sense often seen in works of the impressionism period. Alexandre’s paintings and drawings can be found in private collections in numerous cities throughout Canada including Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, Winnipeg and Montreal.
Viewers can detect Alexandre’s great-grandfather’s artistic essence and techniques in the works he is creating today, which are augmented with his own original flair. Members of the Tennessee State Museum Foundation will have a chance to meet Alexandre Renoir and experience his ethereal work at the opening reception of Strokes of Genius on April 13 from 2 to 4 p.m. on Level B of the museum. Alexandre will return to Nashville on June 6 and 7, where he will be on hand for the final weekend of the Strokes of Genius exhibition, and a tentively planned walking tour for museum visitors, as well as a workshop for children.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919), Alexandre’s great-grandfather, is perhaps the best-loved of all the Impressionists, because his subjects — angelic children, gorgeous flowers, beautiful scenes, and lovely women — have universal appeal, which he rendered with directness and joy. “Why shouldn't art be pretty?” he said, “There are enough unpleasant things in the world.” As homage to his ancestor, Strokes of Genius will include several seldom seen works from the hand of this great French master.
In transferring their artistic theories to the lithographic stone or metal etching plate, artists such as Renoir, Pissarro, Cassatt, and Manet attempted to recreate the spontaneity and subtlety of their paintings with the aim of reaching a wider audience. Along with this endeavor came a period of brilliant experimentation that resulted in never before used techniques creating a more painterly print. Influenced by the past titans of etching, such as Rembrandt and Goya, the Impressionist artists gained a new spirit of freedom in the world of printmaking and elevated these works on paper to a higher art form.
Lithographs, sketches and prints from Mary Cassatt, Paul Cezanne, Edouard Manet, Camille Pissarro, and Jean-Fran Raffaelli, on loan from private collections, will complement this visually stimulating exhibit. Strokes of Genius: The Works of Pierre-Auguste & Alexandre Renoir —Art from Private Collections will offer visitors a glimpse at the Impressionist movement, as characterized by an artist’s ability to render a fleeting moment in time, creating candid compositions, and capturing an ‘impression’ of the ever-changing effects of light and atmospheric conditions. The exhibition opens to the public on April 15 and continues through June 8.
For further information
Contact: Mary Skinner
Mary.Skinner@state.tn.us