Books by Colin B. Bailey

Renoir: Impressionism and Full-Length Painting

by Colin B. Bailey

Magnificent full-length impressionist paintings by Renoir capture the glamorous spirit and refined milieu of Belle Époque Paris

Throughout his long working life, Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) produced large-format portraits and subject pictures. From the mid-1870s to the mid-1880s—the decade of Impressionism—his vertical, grand-scale canvases were among the artist's most daring and ambitious presentations of contemporary life and fashion. Today they rank among the masterpieces of Impressionism. This stunning book offers fresh insights into Renoir's complex ambitions as a young artist, when he submitted works to both the avant-garde impressionist exhibitions and the official Salon. While painting in the new impressionist style, Renoir remained committed to the full-length format, which was eschewed by most of his fellow impressionists as too traditional. This format afforded Renoir the opportunity to devote himself to the heroic painting of everyday life, and also to linger on the finest details of his figures' fashionable costumes and accessories. Ten iconic canvases display the rich variety of this artist's painterly technique. They reveal the sheer virtuosity of his brushwork in creating silk, lace, mink, and taffeta for shimmering ball gowns, sumptuous furs, chic Parisian day dresses, and glamorous theatrical costumes. These paintings capture the faces and fashions of Renoir's Paris.
Extensively illustrated, the book draws upon contemporary criticism, literature, and archival documents to explore the motivation behind Renoir's full-length figure paintings, and technical studies of the canvases shed new light on the artist's working methods.

Published in association with The Frick Collection

Exhibition Schedule:
The Frick Collection(02/07/12-05/13/12)

Renoir Drawings

by Colin B. Bailey, Sarah Lees, Anne Distel, Paul Perrin

Drawings, pastels, prints and watercolors: Renoir's works on paper provide crucial insight into his instantly recognizable Impressionist paintings

The paintings of Pierre-Auguste Renoir have become icons of Impressionism. Although his works on paper are less widely known, drawing remained central to his artistic practice even as his interests and ambitions changed over the course of a long career. This book explores the ways in which Renoir used paper to test ideas, plan compositions and interpret both landscape and the human figure.
Renoir Drawings features more than 110 drawings, pastels, watercolors, prints and a small selection of paintings, enabling readers to engage with Renoir's creative process while offering insights into his artistic methods over five decades.
Thematic sections cover the full span of the artist's career, ranging from academic studies he made as a student, to on-the-spot impressions of contemporary urban and rural life, to finished, formal portraits, to intimate sketches of friends and family completed late in life. In-depth case studies of favored themes and preparatory work for landmark canvases further illuminate Renoir's drawing practice.
Together with Claude Monet, Edgar Degas and Camille Pissarro, Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) was a founder of the style that became known as Impressionism, and one of its most prolific exponents. He was described by Herbert Read as "the final representative of a tradition which runs directly from Rubens to Watteau."

This book was published in conjunction with RMN-Grand Palais; Musée d'Orsay; Morgan Library & Museum.