Childhood
Self portrait by Renoir
Pierre- Auguste Renoir was born February 25 1841 in Limoges, Haute-Vienne, France. He was born into a working class family, and moved to Paris at the age of three. When he was just a young boy he was hired at a porcelain factory. He was very artistic and was given the job of painting figures of Marie Antoinette on fine china. He often visited the Louvre to study french painters such as Delacroix, Fragonard, and Boucher. He spent a year painting murals for cafes before going to school.
Education
In the year 1862 after spending a year painting for cafes, Renoir enrolled studying art under Charles Gleyre in Paris. Other members of his class included Alfred Sisley, Frederic Bazille, and the famous Claude Monet. In 1864 he first started exhibiting his works, but he was not recognized for another 10 years. In 1865 Renoir moved into Alfred Sisley's studio, and went sailing on the river Seine to La Havre.