Renoir in the 20th Century
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is presenting Renoir in the 20th Century, a fulfilling retrospective of Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s art in the last three decades of his career (Feb. 25, 1841-Dec. 3, 1919). Perusing his works during this period, one can see his transition from impressionism to modernism. Select works by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Aristide Maillol and Pierre Bonnard are intermingled in the exhibition to show these artists’ influence on Renoir in his development of the modern style. Approximately 80 paintings, sculptures and drawings by Renoir are featured, one of the most captivating exhibitions by a gifted artist.
Exhibitions of Renoir’s landscapes and portraits have had major exhibitions in recent years, but none that have focused on his later years (as has been the case for Monet or Cezanne). This particular exhibition was created to offer a solution to this dilemma and I found it to be one of my favorite presentations in some time. Along with LACMA curators Claudia Einecke and J. Patrice Marandel, Silvie Patry of the Musee d’ Orsay and Joseph J. Rishel and Jennifer A. Thompson of the Philadelphia Museum of art, also serve as curators on the exhibition.
Renoir in the 20th Century will remain on view through May 9, 2010, at LACMA. It is a specially ticketed exhibition. Tickets can be purchased online at lacma.org, by telephone at (877) 522-6225, or on site at LACMA’s box office. Museum hours are Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 12 noon to 8 p.m., Fridays, 12 noon to 9 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. The museum is closed Wednesdays.