Le Moulin de la Galette - Masterpiece Jigsaw Puzzle
Pierre Auguste Renoir (French 1841-1919)
Laurel Ink 500 piece puzzles measure 18" x 24".
Retail $12.95

Le Moulin de la Galette (from back of puzzle box)
Pierre Auguste Renoir (French 1841-1919)
Impressionism is one of the most widely recognized styles of painting, and certainly of the most enduring in its popularity. The Impressionist movement tool place in France in the late nineteenth century. One of its early galvanizing events occurred in 1863, when the Paris Salon jury rejected three thousand canvases out of the five thousand that were submitted for the exhibition. The subsequent outcry made way for an exhibition of rejected works, the Salon des Refuses, which included works by Camille Pissarro, Paul Cezanne, and Edouard Manet. The public viewed the whole event as a joke, but this assembly of art, which so clearly rebelled against classical methods and the traditional art establishment, brought together some of the artists who would later be known as the Impressionists.

Common Impressionist elements included a redefinition of subject matter, the use of intense color palettes, loose brushstroke techniques, and a fresh interpretation of the effects of light and color. These artists rejected the conventional artistic themes of formal staged images, and instead attempted to capture everyday scenes of nature and daily life. Colors were bold on the canvas as the artists captured movements using unblended brushstrokes in multiple hues. Paintings often illustrated a passing moment by showing transitory light in a scene, capturing the movement of light and shadow. The Impressionists established a new, subjective way of looking at the world that would forever change the study of art.

Pierre Auguste Renoir was one of the most daring and progressive Impressionist artists. Born in Limoges, France, in 1841, Renoir studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris in 1862, were he soon found the group of artists who would become known as his most talented contemporaries. Renoir mastered the rendering of natural light and reflection, showing the naturalistic implications of Impressionism in all his paintings. He portrays a rare lushness in every detail of his work. From the reflections of a lake to the tiniest creases in a women's skirt, Renoir defines painting as a beautiful craft.

In this 1876 painting, Le Moulin de la Galette, features several common Impressionist elements. The Composition depicts a Sunday afternoon, capturing the changing pattern of light and shade as the dancers move beneath the trees. The painting shows a local clientele of shop girls and factory workers. It was quite common for the Impressionists to paint their friends and acquaintances in a given scene. The girl seated in the foreground is the sister of Renoir's model, Jeanne, and many of his friends are seen dancing in the background.

This large picture was one of the major works shown at the Impressionist exhibit of 1877 and received lavish praise for depicting a typical moment of Parisian life with rigorous exactness. Renoir's reputation as a serious and worthy artist who represented and defined Impressionism had taken full effect.

New: packaged/shrink wrapped 14"x14" boxed.

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