‘Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette’ (1876)
In the realm of art, there are two ‘Renoirs’, who have stood
the test of time and inspired generations of artists and filmmakers. The first
is Pierre Auguste Renoir, one of the epitomes of French Impressionism in the
late 19th century. The second is Jean Renoir, the former Renoir’s
second son. Jean Renoir has 2 modern classics under his wings: ‘The Grand
Illusion’ (1937) and ‘The Rules of The Game’ (1939). While the two Renoirs
appear to be descended from different schools of style - Impressionism for
Pierre Auguste and Naturalism for Jean – interesting parallels can be observed
from Pierre Auguste’s paintings and Jean’s films. Indeed, the young Jean was
greatly benefited from an artistic upbringing and support from his family members,
and his brothers all eventually accomplished in various artistic fields. Here,
I share with you my personal observations of the ‘Two Renoirs’.
Pierre Auguste Renoir
Pierre Auguste Renoir
Orson Welles has once remarked, ‘For the high and mighty of
the movie industry, a Renoir on the wall is the equivalent of a Rolls Royce in
the garage.’ (1) While Renoir paintings have elevated their reputations to such
monumental status, his pioneering style was not as well-received when his first
paintings were distributed to the general public. He is seen as a major figure
in French Impressionism, which represents a break-away from the more classical
approach to painting at the time. With
revolutionary brush strokes and innovative uses of novel oil colours, their
work reflect an intimate ‘warmth’ even when viewed from the distanced eyes of
modern audience. The Impressionists were also committed to capture a stronger
sense of realism in their paintings. For instance, a number of artists
advocated the idea of ‘en plein air’ - painting outdoors - so as to capture a
stronger coherence to the natural environment in their work. This style is
reminiscent of later cinematic movements such as Italian Neorealism and the
French New Wave, which also advocated on-location shooting to achieve a stronger
realism and a more authentic reflection of the real lives.
The Theater Box (1874). Man spying on woman, woman peeping on man.
Luncheon of the Boating Party (1880)
The Swing (1876)
‘Deep focus’ in Pierre Auguste Renoir’s paintings
Deep focus is a photographic technique that has reached
legendary status in many of Jean Renoir and Orson Welles’ works. By placing the
majority of characters or settings in focus for a given shot, the technique
provides a holistic view of the setting, instead of a more subjective perspective
that involves close-up shots or point-of-view shots. When I appreciate many of
Pierre Auguste’s work, I am struck by the observation that a number of his works
feature a ‘deep focus’ painting style, and the result is a far more holistic
view and the subject (for example a party) becomes far more vivid and fresh. In
‘Luncheon of the Boating Party’ (1880), we can see the ten-or-so guests, the
nice puppy, the wine bottles and glasses are all clear in focus, and this
tight-knitted arrangement leads to a coherent unity and draws all the guests
closer as a result. A lively mass dance is depicted in ‘Dance at Le Moulin de
la Galette’ (1876), when a majority of the characters are drawn in clear
details and they are seen interacting with each other. While one may argue that
this work also has a shallow focus element – as there are hundreds of dancers
at the back, Renoir still managed to instill some colorful details to the
background. Even for a tighter arrangement like ‘The Swing’ (1876), that is
comprised of two groups of four, the ‘deep focus’ approach is still possible.
Indeed, for the composition here, I can see uncanny resemblance to the
‘contract arrangement’ scene in Welles’ ‘Citizen Kane’ (1941)!
The Artist's Family (1896)
Jean Renoir
Jean Renoir
Pierre Auguste’s second son, Jean, was born in 1894. Pierre
Auguste’s family members and friends were often the subjects of his paintings,
therefore a couple of famous paintings feature Jean the garçon. From these
paintings, some lights could be shed about Jean’s childhood upbringing, which
would significantly influence his cinematic vision in the later years. Jean has
had very intimate relationship with his cousin Gabrielle Renard, who raised him
and introduced him to many different facets of art, from puppet shows to the
first movie he ever watched. To quote from Renoir’s autobiography, ‘She taught
me to see the face behind the mask and the fraud behind the flourishes’. (2) That
was his cousin who inspired him to look beyond the façades, and this was indeed
the major theme of many of Renoir’s work (that is why I like him). While his
father has also inspired and has encouraged him to engage in artistic activities,
such as a brief stint in ceramics, Renoir has discovered his true love in
Zola-esque Naturalism, for which he has adopted Zola’s literature work into a
number of his films. On the other hand, Renoir was also highly inspired by
Erich von Stroheim’s films, for which the dawning lights of ‘auteurism’ and
‘realism’ surfaced. Renoir and von Stroheim would eventually collaborate in
1937, when they filmed the one-of-a-kind war film known as ‘The Grand
Illusion’. From all these influences, Jean Renoir has gone on to develop his
unique ‘Renoir-esque Naturalism’, and also contributed significantly to the ‘Poetic
Realism’ movement in the 1930s and 1940s. As of Poetic Realism, that is another
story!
Gabrielle Renard and Jean Renoir.
An armed Jean Renoir.
Erich von Stroheim
Both Renoirs love the truth, and they have no reservations
to pass that on with their stunning styles. To me, the word ‘Renoir’ signifies
a touch of class.
By Ed Law
15/2/2015
以戲服人 Film Analysis - 34
Reference:
(1) 'Jean
Renoir : The Greatest of All Directors', by Orson Welles. 18/2/1979, Los
Angeles Times.
(2) My
Life and My Films, by Jean Renoir, 1974.
