Renoir, Jean

(1894-1979)

   cinematographer

   One of the masters of French cinema, Jean Renoir, the son of the impressionist painter pierre-auguste renoir, was born in Paris. After serving in world war I (and receiving the Croix de Guerre), Renoir became a ceramicist, demonstrating his sense of reality, patience, and taste for freedom. in the 1920s, with a small inheritance from his father, he began to write, direct, and produce independent films. A master of poetic naturalism in these works, which featured his wife, Catherine Hessling, Renoir shows the influence of not only the impressionists but also of Emile zola and guy de maupassant (La Fille de l'eau, 1925; Nana, 1926; La Chienne, 1931; Boudu sauvé des eaux, 1932; Une partie de campagne, 1936). He opened the way to neorealism (Toni, 1935) and produced historical works (La Marseillaise, 1938) before producing three masterpieces: La Grande Illusion (1939), La Bête humaine (1938), and La Règle de jeu (1939). Audacious for his era, Renoir was an innovator whose greatest contribution was his ability to improvise and resist convention. His work is characterized by his penchant for long, uninterrupted sequences and deep-focus photography, giving a sense of wholeness to the scene and a full interpretation with the actors. Renoir is also known for exploring the relationship between theater and reality and for his use of water imagery. During and right after the war, Renoir settled in Hollywood, but his films there, with the exception of The Southerner (1945), were less successful. In 1950, he went to India and made The River, a beautiful film, then returned to Europe to make Le Carrosse d'or (1952), after a play by prosper mérimée, French Cancan (1955), Elena et les hommes (1956), and Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe (1959). A strong influence on many filmmakers, Renoir was honored by the French government with the legion of honor (1977) and received an Academy Award (1975) for his cumulative contributions to film art.