Alexandre Renoir

Personal History

Alexandre was born in the town of Cagnes-sur-Mer on July 7, 1974. Cagnes-sur-Mer is a lush urban settlement located in the Côte d’Azur in southern France. Alexandre’s hometown was also the retreat and final home of his famed great-grandfather, French Impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir. At the age of 4, Alexandre and his family moved to Western Canada.

Alexandre’s exposure to art began at a young age. Always surrounded by art, Alexandre was immersed in his family’s history and French culture. While drawing and sketching, Alexandre demonstrated a vivid imagination. His parents saw his creative abilities and decided he should be in art-oriented schools and classes. Renoir attended the Virginia Park School and the Victoria School of Performing and Visual Arts in Edmonton, Alberta.

Alexandre tried his hand in many different endeavors including: goldsmithing, silversmithing, jewelry design, graphic design, photography, and theater arts.

In 2004, Alexandre was given the opportunity to pursue painting full time by a prestigious publisher in Beverly Hills, California. This was Alexandre’s breakthrough moment. Finally realizing what he was always meant to do, he dove into a career in painting.

Over the next 12 years, Alexandre traveled the world and displayed his work in numerous galleries and exhibitions.

A showman and historian, Alexandre calls himself the family gossip. He knows many of the family stories that do not make it into the history books, and is happy to share them with those that come and see him.

Alexandre maintains a home and studio in Southern California. Living in the Sunshine State with his son Felix, his beloved wife Maria, and step-daughter Julia, the Renoirs are deeply involved in art, life, and love.

Style and Influences

Alexandre bases his style in  Impressionism, a style his ancestor helped innovate, but his style and technique departs from that of his great-grandfather. Whereas Pierre-Auguste captured French lifestyle, culture, and landscape in his intricate works, Alexandre’s approach focuses on looser, nature-inspired compositions.

Pierre-Auguste joked that a palette knife is only good for cleaning a palette. Alexandre, on the other hand, exclusively paints with palette knives, going so far as to design custom knives to achieve the effects he desires.

Instead of mixing his paints on a palette, Alexandre prefers to mix his paint directly on the canvas. The technique produces vibrant colors not seen in traditional, 19^th-century Impressionism. His use of thick, impasto texture creates paintings infused with dimension and depth that harkens to Impressionism’s emphasis on light.

Much like Pierre-Auguste, Alexandre prefers to paint bright and joyful works. He takes to heart his great-grandfather’s philosophy: “There are too many unpleasant things in life as it is without creating still more of them,” preferring to portray the pleasurable and serene aspects of life.

Accomplishments

• As a testament to his artistic skill, Alexandre is collected in over 16 countries by many international, prestigious, and influential clients.

• In 2008, the Tennessee State Museum featured Alexandre’s art in its exhibition, “Strokes of Genius,” alongside art from his great-grandfather and other renowned artists, including Mary Cassatt, Paul Cézanne, Édouard Manet, Camille Pissarro, and Jean-François Raffaëlli.