Pierre-Auguste Renoir

The most sensuous of the Impressionists. Renoir's Moulin de la Galette (1876) and Luncheon of the Boating Party (1881) capture the joie de vivre of the new Parisian leisure society born after Haussmann rebuilt the city. He fought in the Franco-Prussian War (1870). In old age, crippled by rheumatoid arthritis, he had brushes strapped to his hands and continued painting until the day before his death.

• Roles: Painter