As we have seen with the works of Sandro Botticelli, the great artworks of the past still have an incredible hold on the present. The same can be said for Pierre-Auguste Renoir, one of the founding leaders of Impressionism. Known for his intimate figure paintings—especially of the female nude—and delightful portraits of Parisian socialites, Renoir has collected a cast of characters who still very much play a role in contemporary art today.
Drawn from Phaidon’s newly updated monograph Renoir in conjunction with the Artspace archives, these five pairs of Impressionist paintings and contemporary works (now available on Artspace) show the continued impression art of the 20th century has made on the 21st.
THE DANCER
THE DANCER
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
1874
PAULINA, UKRAINE, 2005
Michal Chelbin
2005
THE MODEL/MUSE
BUST-LENGTH PORTRAIT OF A MODEL
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
1916
THE BATHERS
BATHING GROUP
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
1916
BATHED IN SUNLIGHT
Liu Xiaodong
2008
THE COUPLE
A COUPLE
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
c.1868
YOUNG COUPLE ON A BENCH IN WASHINGTON SQUARE PARK, N.Y.C.
Diane Arbus
1965
THE CLOWN
THE CLOWN
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
1868
UNTITLED (STUFFED ANIMALS CLOWN)
Cindy Sherman
2003