Renoir: Paris and the Belle Epoque

by Karin Sagner-Düchting

Book by Sagner-Duchting, Karin

Genres: Art

Paperback

First published July 6, 1998

About the author

Karin Sagner, früher Sagner-Düchting (* 1955 in Steinheidel-Erlabrunn) ist eine deutsche Kunsthistorikerin und Autorin.

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is unusually small for an art book, less than 10in tall, thin, and narrow. However, it is quite interesting. I assume that the original intention was to connect Renoir’s paintings from a specific period to areas and locations of Belle-Epoque Paris. The book is organized into 7 small chapters, each focused on a location or topic. Each tells about a specific period or Renoir’s life associated with a group of paintings while also explaining where it was painted, including a map, showing contemporary photos, etc. The first chapter talks about Grenouillere, 2nd about the center of Paris, 3rd about Montmartre, 5th about Restaurant Fournaise (the place of the Luncheon of a boating party and many other paintings), 6th mentions some other boating locations, 4th and 7th focuses on more broad topics – female images and dancing pairs. Chapters are small but well-illustrated with Renoir’s work, all in color. Paintings, however, are shown in rather a small size due to the small book format. Altogether, the book provides interesting context “behind” paintings and is useful for Ranoir’s fans.