№ 279/кор. “World Cultural Celebrities” series. 175th Birth Anniversary of Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841‒1919), painter

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841–1919) was a French artist, graphic designer and sculptor, one of the most prominent representatives of the Impressionist style.

He was born in Limoges, France, and then his family moved to Paris, where Renoir began singing in the choir. His drawing talents also manifested, and at the age of 13 he started working in a porcelain factory painting on fine china. Renoir attended a school of painting in the evening.

In 1862 he enrolled in art school, where he met such master painters as Alfred Sisley, Frédéric Bazille and Claude Monet, the members of the future group of Impressionists.

Renoir made a major contribution to developing of Impressionism artistic method. He used a new approach not only to depicting nature, but also to still-life paintings, genre pieces, portraits and images of naked figures. Renoir was an outstanding colorist. It is in his works of art that joyous, optimistic attitude, characteristic of Impressionism, manifested itself the most. In 1870–1880, the painter created his main masterpieces — The Big Boulevards (Les Grands Boulevards, 1875), The Walk (La Promenade, 1875), Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette (Bal du moulin de la Galette, 1876), Nude (Nu, 1876), Nude in the Sun (1876), The Swing (La balançoire, 1876), At the Theatre (La Première Sortie, 1876‒1877), The Path Leading through Tall Grass (Chemin montant dans les hautes herbes, ca 1876‒1877).

The envelope with an original stamp contains a composition of symbols of various kinds of art: a lyre, palette, books, a quill, column and a theatre curtain, as well as a portrait of Pierre-Auguste Renoir against the background of a vivid landscape.