Pierre-Auguste Renoir - Boy with a Cat Button

Boy with a Cat (Le Garçon au chat), 1868 - Pierre-Auguste Renoir, oil on canvas. Pierre-Auguste Renoir (Limoges, 1841 - Cagnes-sur-Mer, 1919) was a French Impressionist painter. He painted this unusual canvas in 1868, a turning point in his early career. Refused at the Salons of 1866 and 1867, he finally found success that year with Lise with a Parasol. Here a boy is seen from behind, cuddling a cat and glancing slyly toward the viewer. His identity is unknown, and the scene has no mythological pretext. The realistic handling and cool harmonies show the influence of Courbet and Manet, whom Renoir and his companions Bazille, Sisley and Monet admired.