Art for Guernsey celebrates
RENOIR WITH AN ART WALK
Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) has a special significance for Guernsey as the famous Impressionist spent just over a month on the island in 1883 and worked on 15 paintings during his stay, all depicting views of Moulin Huet. As 2019 marks the centenary of Renoir’s death, Art for Guernsey celebrates his importance to our island with a very special Renoir Walk.
Follow in Renoir’s footsteps and appreciate the views that inspired his paintings. Five steel frames have been especially commissioned to echo the ornate frames Renoir chose for his own artworks, but with a contemporary twist. These frames allow viewers to stand in the exact spots where Renoir worked on his paintings, and to see Moulin Huet bay from exactly the same perspectives as the Frenchman did.
QR codes on panels adjacent to the frames can be scanned with a smartphone, allowing walkers to listen to a fascinating audio guide conducted by Mr Cyrille Sciama, a world authority on Renoir and Art for Guernsey’s guest of honour for the inauguration of the walk. Download our Guide to take you along the route and even inspire you to produce your own piece of art!
BAIE DU MOULIN Á TRAVERS DES ARBRES
BAIE DU MOULIN Á TRAVERS DES ARBRES (Moulin Huet bay through the trees), Pierre-Auguste Renoir 1883
461 x 654mm
Here you can admire the view of the coast that Renoir first glimpsed before walking down the hill. With his colour palette of green, brown and blue, Renoir has captured the light beautifully.
(1/5)
Listen
écoute
BROUILLARD À GUERNESEY
BROUILLARD À GUERNESEY (Fog in Guernsey), Pierre-Auguste Renoir 1883
540 x 650mm
Looking through this frame, you suspect that Renoir did not paint the view exactly as he saw it. This piece is a tribute to Claude Monet’s Fisherman’s House at Varengeville, painted in 1882.
(2/5)
BROUILLARD À GUERNESEY (Fog in Guernsey), Pierre-Auguste Renoir 1883
540 x 650mm
Looking through this frame, you suspect that Renoir did not paint the view exactly as he saw it. This piece is a tribute to Claude Monet’s Fisherman’s House at Varengeville, painted in 1882.
(2/5)
Listen
écoute
ENFANTS AU BORD DE LA MER, GUERNSEY
Enfants au bord de la mer, Guernesey (Children at the seaside, Guernsey), Pierre-Auguste Renoir 1883
920 x 670mm
Renoir loved to paint people, which is reflected in this piece. He was surprised to see people bathing naked on the beach, but the well-dressed group on the right is thought to have been added by Renoir later, in his Paris studio.
(3/5)
Listen
écoute
VUE DE GUERNESEY
VUE DE GUERNESEY (View of Guernsey), Pierre-Auguste Renoir 1883
460 x 560mm
The effect of the wind is shown in this painting, but you wouldn’t expect the wind to blow from the land towards the sea. This makes us wonder if the tree was really there or whether it was imagined by Renoir – what do you think?
(4/5)
VUE DE GUERNESEY (View of Guernsey), Pierre-Auguste Renoir 1883
460 x 560mm
The effect of the wind is shown in this painting, but you wouldn’t expect the wind to blow from the land towards the sea. This makes us wonder if the tree was really there or whether it was imagined by Renoir – what do you think?
(4/5)
Listen
écoute
LA CÔTE DU MOULIN HUET
Renoir View at Guernsey 1883
LA CÔTE DU MOULIN HUET (The Moulin Huet coast), Pierre-Auguste Renoir 1883
460 x 560mm
This view was painted before the Bon Port Hotel was built. You can clearly see that it was surrounded by very colourful fields, through the balanced colour palette Renoir used.
(5/5)
