Renoir and Cézanne differed greatly in background and personality. Renoir was born into a working-class family in Paris and learned painting in a porcelain factory, enduring a difficult childhood. Cézanne, from a wealthy family in southern France, initially trained to become a lawyer but chose to devote himself to art instead. Their shared passion for painting brought them together in Paris, where they became close friends within the Impressionist circle. They often painted outdoors in both city and countryside scenes, exchanging ideas and techniques. Renoir was fascinated by human expression and the play of light, hoping to convey the joy of life through his brushwork, while Cézanne pursued stability and structure, representing nature’s forms through geometry. Their complementarity — emotion and reason — allowed each to push artistic boundaries in distinct ways.
Artistic Revolution — Painting Outdoors and Creative Freedom
The birth of Impressionism fundamentally changed painting’s rules. The program notes how Renoir, Cézanne, and their peers dared to overthrow the rigid standards of the Salon, rejecting academic subjects and techniques to paint directly from life outdoors, capturing natural light and its transformations.
