Work, catalog raisonné and attribution
How many paintings did Renoir paint?
Why the number varies
“More than 4,000” tables is the best answer - provided you explain what it means
The Orangerie Museum shop summarizes the extent of Renoir's work with the formula "more than 4,000 paintings". This is a useful benchmark for measuring the extraordinary fertility of the painter. However, no scientific basis today allows us to display an immutable total to the nearest unit.
Renoir worked for nearly sixty years. His paintings were sold very early, scattered around the world, passed down in private collections and sometimes documented only by a photograph or an archive. Some motifs exist in several versions; other works have been retouched, cut out, destroyed or misattributed.
The Wildenstein Plattner Institute now publishes an evolving digital catalog raisonné. The project begins with subsets, including still lifes and genre scenes, then expands as the committee reviews the files. The institute itself insists on the progressive nature of the corpus: the absence of a work in the current database is therefore not enough to conclude that it is rejected.
Define before counting
Table, study, variant or work on paper: the total changes with the chosen rule
In its guide, the Wildenstein Plattner Institute defines a painting by Renoir as a work whose main medium is oil and whose support is canvas, another fabric or wood. This scientific rule avoids mixing paintings with pastels, watercolors, drawings, engravings and sculptures.
Oil paintings
They constitute the heart of the number "more than 4,000 paintings". The medium may vary, but the oil must be the main medium.
Studies and variants
A second version is not a simple duplicate if painted separately. It has its own material, history and catalog number.
Works on paper
Pastels, watercolors and drawings belong to Renoir's work, but should not be added to the number of paintings without pointing this out.
The sculptures
Late sculpture forms yet another corpus, with particular questions of collaboration, models and editions.
Production over six decades
Why Renoir was able to paint so much
Renoir began by decorating porcelain before entering Charles Gleyre's studio. This artisanal training gave him great familiarity with the brush and decorative surfaces. From the 1860s, he painted almost continuously, despite the poverty of his beginnings and then the severe arthritis of his old age.
Learning
Portraits, landscapes, Fontainebleau and research carried out with Monet, Sisley and Bazille.
Impressionist years
Independent exhibitions, Parisian stages, boating and fragmented lighting.
Research period
Travels to Italy and Algeria, return of drawing and long studies for Bathers.
Late maturity
Family, familiar models, nudes, bouquets and landscapes of Collettes despite illness.
A work more varied than one imagines
The thousands of paintings do not form a single series of portraits
Renoir is famous for faces, bathers and party scenes, but his catalog also includes a huge number of landscapes. The Philadelphia Museum of Art highlights the importance and inventiveness of this side of his career, particularly in the 1870s and early 1880s.
The categories often overlap. A lunch on the banks of the Seine is a collective portrait, genre scene and landscape at the same time. A bather allows you to study the figure, skin color and nature. A still life can be a quick study or a painting intended for the market.
Social orders, friends, children, professional models and family members.
Theaters, balls, boulevards, boating and sociability of the new bourgeoisie.
Seine, Normandy, Guernsey, Algeria, Italy and Domaine des Collettes.
Bathers, odalisques, bouquets and fruits occupy an increasing place in maturity.
Modern portraits and scenes
Famous works that represent several branches of the catalog
Woman with cat
Renoir combines the softness of the female portrait with the careful study of coat and textures.
Umbrellas
Painted over several years, the painting retains traces of an evolution in style and composition.
Galette mill ball
A great composition where portraits of friends become chronicles of Parisian life.
The Boaters’ Lunch
Collective portrait, table still life and Seine landscape united in a single work.
Rehearsals, versions and series
The same composition can include several authentic paintings
Renoir often returns to a pattern. It changes the size, framing, position of a hand, color of a dress or degree of completion. These covers sometimes respond to an order, sometimes to research, sometimes to market demand.
The case of Young girls at the piano is revealing. The Musée de l'Orangerie mentions at least six other versions of the painting it preserves. Each must be studied as a distinct work. Adding only famous titles therefore greatly underestimates the artist's production.
Conversely, several names can designate the same table depending on the languages, inventories or sales catalogs. Counting titles found on the Internet artificially inflates the total. The catalog raisonné is used precisely to link title variants to a single object.
At Renoir, repeating a subject does not mean mechanically reproducing an image: each version remains a new painting session.
Why the exact number is difficult to establishAuthenticate without guessing
How a work enters Renoir's catalog raisonné
A signature is never enough. Counterfeiters know how to imitate a name, and Renoir did not sign all his works in the same way. The attribution is based on a coherent set of evidence: material observation, provenance, archives, old photographs, exhibitions and publications.
The Wildenstein Plattner Institute project publishes paintings studied by the former committee between 2003 and 2016 as well as those submitted, reviewed and verified since 2017. Each accepted work receives a WPI reference, accompanied by data on title, date, medium, dimensions, inscriptions and history.
Support, pictorial layer, dimensions, signature and condition.
Succession of owners and consistency of dates.
Invoices, letters, workshop photos and merchant files.
Exhibition catalogs, old sales and publications.
Acceptance, reservation, request for additional study or rejection.
| Formulation | What she means | Caution necessary |
|---|---|---|
| "Attributed to Renoir" | Author's proposed, but attribution is not fully established. | Do not present the work as certain. |
| "Renoir’s workshop" | Work linked to those around you or to a workshop practice. | It's not automatically an autograph painting. |
| "After Renoir" | Copy or rework made after a known composition. | The historical and market value is different. |
| "Included in the catalog" | Work recognized in a specific scientific corpus. | Check the edition, number and any updates. |
Number does not mean time
A painting can take an hour, several sessions or three years
A production of more than 4,000 paintings does not mean that Renoir painted each work at the same pace. Some landscapes and bouquets are executed quickly. Conversely, the Philadelphia Museum of Art recalls that it works for about three years on The Great Bathers, with numerous preparatory drawings and at least two life-size multifigure studies.
The overall figure must therefore be read with the diversity of formats and ambitions. A small panel study, a commissioned portrait and a monumental composition are three paintings, but they do not involve the same time or the same method.
This difference also explains why the material counts so much in a reproduction. A large Renoir constructed by covers and glazes cannot be understood as a simple printed image. The surface tells the duration of the work.
Reproductions highlighted
Five works to explore Renoir's major genres
To choose a reproduction, start from the genre and the atmosphere: intimate portrait, urban scene, party, boating or classic composition. An oil painting restores the flexibility of the touch and the surface variations that distinguish Renoir.
Mrs. Carpenter
A rich interior, deep blacks and bright faces.
DiscoverWoman with cat
Softness of textures and proximity of the model.
DiscoverUmbrellas
A dense crowd and a refined palette of blues.
Discover
Mill ball
Spotted light, dance and Parisian sociability.
Discover
Boaters’ lunch
A friendly stage ideal for a living room.
DiscoverCollections highlighted
Explore Renoir, Impressionism and Known Paintings
Impressionist Collection
Renoir, Monet and the painters of modern light.
See the collection →
Painting despite arthritis
The disease slows down the body, not production
In recent years, Renoir has suffered from severe polyarthritis. His hands become deformed and he uses a wheelchair. Contrary to persistent legend, the brushes were not necessarily permanently attached to his fingers; testimonies and photographs above all show practical adaptations and the help of those around him.
However, he continued to paint in Les Collettes, in Cagnes-sur-Mer. Familiar models, bathers, bouquets and the Mediterranean landscape fuel abundant production. This persistence contributes to the exceptional number of paintings, but also to the difficulty of precisely dating certain small late works.
The catalog raisonné must then combine the material, the merchant archives, the photographs of the workshop and the family origins. The larger the corpus, the more meticulous work each certainty requires.
Frequently asked questions
Understand everything about the number of Renoir paintings
How many paintings did Renoir paint?
We generally retain more than 4,000 paintings. This is an order of magnitude, because the catalog raisonné remains evolving and not all known works have necessarily been published or re-examined according to the same criteria.
Why can't we give an exact figure?
The works are scattered, some exist in several versions and others are only known from archives. Attributions may also be confirmed, revised or rejected as research progresses.
Does the number 4,000 include drawings and pastels?
No, when we talk about paintings, we must distinguish oil paintings from drawings, pastels, watercolors, prints and sculptures. Adding all the mediums without precision produces a misleading number.
What's a catalog raisonné?
It is a scientific publication which seeks to inventory, describe, date and document the known works of an artist. It brings together provenance, exhibitions, bibliography, dimensions and material information.
Who is preparing Renoir's catalog raisonné today?
The Wildenstein Plattner Institute publishes an evolving digital project based on its Renoir committee's research, historical records, and review of submitted works.
Is a signature enough to authenticate a Renoir?
No. The signature is just a clue. The attribution is based on examination of the medium and painting, provenance, archives, old photographs, exhibitions and bibliography.
Why did Renoir paint several versions of the same subject?
He used a composition to study a pose, modify the format, respond to an order or deepen the color. Each separately painted version can constitute a distinct authentic painting.
Which reproduction of Renoir to choose?
For a friendly room, the Bal du moulin de la Galette or the Déjeuner des canoeiers are suitable. For a more intimate atmosphere, choose Femme au chat; for a refined urban palette, Les Parapluies.
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