Like hardly any other artist, Pierre-Auguste Renoir has shaped our understanding of the atmospheric figure paintings of Impressionism. His painting After the Luncheon, which has been in the Städel Museum in Frankfurt since 1910, is now the starting point for a far-reaching examination of an important source of inspiration that accompanied him throughout his life: the Rococo. Considered frivolous and immoral after the French Revolution, this style of painting experienced a renaissance in the 19th century and was widely celebrated during Renoir’s lifetime. Published on the occasion of the Städel Museum’s major exhibition, this comprehensive volume explores Renoir’s multifaceted connection to tradition through illuminating juxtapositions of his art with 18th-century works and contemporaries.

As a trained porcelain painter, PIERRE-AUGUSTE RENOIR (1841–1919) was well acquainted with the motif world of the 18th century. His depictions of intimate domestic scenes and outdoor social gatherings are reminiscent of the pictorial language of the preceding era, such as Jean-Antoine Watteau’s Fêtes galantes.