The Influence of French Impressionist Paintings on Renoir's Films

 　　In the 1870s, Edouard Manet, Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir (for the sake of distinction, Auguste Renoir will be referred to below), etc. The representative group of young painters entered the French painting circle as innovators. On the basis of sublating realism and classicism, they boldly walked out of the studio to paint the real nature and society, and strived to express what light and color left to people. Visual impression, known as the Impressionist school of painting. Jean Renoir is a famous French director who was once hailed by Truffaut as "the greatest filmmaker in the world". Renoir himself is energetic, extensive, and proficient in exploration. In his lifetime, he created more than forty films, ranging from silent to sound, from black and white to color, including "Nana", which belonged to the avant-garde, and "Nana". There are "Tony", which "began the first of new realism", and "Rules of the Game", an outstanding representative of poetic realism style. As the son of the Impressionist painter Auguste, Renoir was deeply influenced by the paintings of his father and his Impressionist friends, as well as his films.

　　Impressionist painting is realistic in subject matter, taking real nature, society and people as the main objects of expression. Impressionists were keen to express natural scenery. Auguste once said: "Nature was discovered by us (referring to the Impressionists, the author's note), and we were fascinated." For this reason, they often traveled together to the suburbs of Paris or the provinces Outdoor sketching in the countryside, personally observing and experiencing the changes of nature and the changing seasons. Monet's "Sunrise Impression", "Water Lilies", Auguste's "Spring in Chateaux", "Farmhouse", Pissarro's "The Hillside of Jalais", Sisley's "Ruphschen's" Paintings such as "Snow" reflect the Impressionist painters' careful observation and unique perception of natural and rural scenery. Renoir's insistence on the creative concept of "shooting in real locations" coincides with the idea of ​​"moving the easel outdoors" put forward by the Impressionists, and it cannot be said that he was influenced by the latter. Nearly half of his films involve and express natural scenery, which shows his love for nature. The scenery of Fontainebleau forest, Provence mountains, and Le Havre harbour described in Impressionist paintings reappears in Reno in a more realistic and moving form. in A's video. For example, "Luncheon on the Grass" echoes Manet's painting of the same name, praising the untouched beauty and simplicity of nature and the countryside. Apart from beautiful nature, bustling cities and crowds are also important themes of Impressionist paintings. Painters often draw inspiration from the familiar things around them. Churches, theaters, bars, streets and other places, as well as dinners, dances, outings and other activities provide vivid and rich materials for Impressionist painting. Monet's "Gare de Saint-Lazare", August's "Ball in the Roastery", "Lunch on a Yacht", Pissarro's "Avenue Montmartre" and other works all depict a vibrant city Landscapes and colorful life scenes. And Renoir's films "The Bitch", "The Beast in Clothes", "Boudou Falling into the Water" and other films describe various life scenes in Paris with the same effect as Impressionist paintings. The still figures on the canvas are obtained on the screen. Dynamic vitality. For example, the magnificent balls and steaming trains in the films "Nana" and "The Beast" are reminiscent of the paintings "Baking Mill Ball" (Auguste) and "Saint Rachael Train Station" (Monet), respectively. ) in the scene. The close attention of Renoir's films to the general public is also closely related to the inspiration of Impressionist painting. Bar waiters, band members, laundresses, prostitutes, gentlemen and ladies... all beings were incorporated into their works by Impressionist painters, such as Pissarro's "Peasant Girl", Manet's "Fri Berger Bar", Degas' Ballet Dancer, Austria Gust's "Madame Monet" and other paintings use ordinary people around them or relatives and friends as objects of expression, and outline the group portraits of French people in the late 19th century. Most of Renoir's films feature ordinary people as the protagonists, and the performance of the characters is higher than that of Impressionist paintings, not only depicting their appearance, clothing, but also the emotions and thoughts behind their words and deeds.

　　Secondly, the aesthetic pursuit of Impressionist painting in terms of light and shadow, color and composition subtly cultivated Renoir's artistic sense, making his films full of poetic and picturesque. Impressionists attached great importance to light and color. They tried to capture the different colors of objects under different lighting, climate, and distance conditions, to show the changing visual effects caused by the interweaving of light and color, and to express their feelings for Unique feelings and impressions of the objective world. Monet once painted the series of landscape paintings "Haystacks" and "Water Lilies" in different seasons and moments such as the dawn, the setting sun, and the scorching sun, recording the subtle differences in light, shadow and color of the same object. Pissarro also deliberately chose different climates and times to describe Montmartre Avenue in Paris. Day and night, sunlight and rain give Montmartre Avenue different impressions of light, shadow and color: the streets and crowds illuminated by the sun are bright and full of colors. ; The street lights flickered under the shroud of night, and the rain-covered pavement merged into a sea of ​​light under the reflection of the lights. Auguste's paintings such as Nude in the Sun and Puppy and Bathing Girl depict the human body in the sun and in nature: the plump and soft body glows and shines in the sunlight, and the snow is white and delicate. The skin glows with infinite vitality under the splendid natural backdrop. Manet's "Luncheon on the Grass", "Olympia" and other paintings not only reveal the reflection effect of light on the scenery, but also show the fusion and contrast between light and dark colors, which deeply impressed the viewers. The Impressionists' relentless pursuit of light, shadow and color is evident in Renoir's films. The film "Water Girl" is the result of Renoir's pursuit of "visually valuable shots": the rippling river surface is glittering and crystal clear under the sunlight, and the shadows of trees and people are reflected in it, forming different shades of light and dark. The light and shadow effect is reminiscent of Monet's series of works that express the subtle changes between light and shadow, water and scenery. The film (One Day in the Country) is more rapid, complete and vivid than Impressionist paintings, showing the instant impression of the combination of light and shadow and the ever-changing natural phenomena. For example, the lens has repeatedly shown the sun shining on the girl through the leaves. A mottled light and shadow effect, comparable to Auguste's painting "The Swing" Wonderful performance of light and shadow. Another example, when the breeze is breezy and the sun is shining brightly, the flowers, plants and trees are shining brightly; but when the wind is blowing and the dark clouds cover the sun, the surrounding scenery is suddenly eclipsed, and even the clear river water becomes dim, the film's change of scenery and light and shadow. The dynamic capture and presentation of his paintings has gone beyond Impressionist painting. As a color film, "Luncheon on the Grass" not only depicts light and shadow, but also explores the role of color. Compared with Manet's painting of the same name, it is no worse than Manet's painting of the same name: the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the water is gurgling, the wheat waves are rolling, the blue The sky, white clouds, green trees, bright flowers... The flowing light and shadow and the colorful colors together form a symphony, fully demonstrating the rich harmony and vitality of nature. The works of August and Sisley form a certain degree of echo. The lens language and spatial character of Renoir's films were inspired by Impressionist paintings. The way of outdoor sketching made Impressionist painters less time to consider the rigor and standard of composition, and the composition of Impressionist paintings often appeared to be free and open. Irregular composition is adopted, suggesting the existence of space outside the painting. At the same time, Impressionist paintings also explored and expressed the depth of space. For example, Manet's "Bar Free Berger" placed the waitress in the foreground, and the mirror behind her reflected the depth and breadth of the bar space; Pissarro's "Montmartre Avenue" and "Lordship Lynn Train Station" both use perspective to shape the depth of space. Inspired by Impressionist painting, Renoir used a variety of cinematic techniques to create off-painting spaces. For example, the films "Nana", "My Land and My People" and "The Rules of the Game" have been used separately. Characters come out of the painting, voice-over, and moving long shots to express the space outside the painting. The depth of field lens is used by Renoir to show the multi-layered and meaningful real space. The movement of the characters between the front and back scenes enhances the feeling of the deep space, which is more realistic than the still painting. The pictures often appear to be free and open. For example, Auguste's "The Box" and Degas's "Musician in the Orchestra Pit" all adopt an irregular composition, implying the existence of space outside the painting. At the same time, Impressionist paintings also explored and expressed the depth of space. For example, Manet's "Bar Free Berger" placed the waitress in the foreground, and the mirror behind her reflected the depth and breadth of the bar space; Pissarro's "Montmartre Avenue" and "Lordship Lynn Train Station" both use perspective to shape the depth of space. Inspired by Impressionist painting, Renoir used a variety of cinematic techniques to create off-painting spaces. For example, the films "Nana", "My Land and My People" and "The Rules of the Game" have been used separately. Characters come out of the painting, voice-over, and moving long shots to express the space outside the painting. The depth of field lens is used by Renoir to show the multi-layered and meaningful real space. The movement of the characters between the front and back scenes enhances the feeling of the deep space, which is more realistic than the still painting. The pictures often appear to be free and open. For example, Auguste's "The Box" and Degas's "Musician in the Orchestra Pit" all adopt an irregular composition, implying the existence of space outside the painting. At the same time, Impressionist paintings also explored and expressed the depth of space. For example, Manet's "Bar Free Berger" placed the waitress in the foreground, and the mirror behind her reflected the depth and breadth of the bar space; Pissarro's "Montmartre Avenue" and "Lordship Lynn Train Station" both use perspective to shape the depth of space. Inspired by Impressionist painting, Renoir used a variety of cinematic techniques to create off-painting spaces. For example, the films "Nana", "My Land and My People" and "The Rules of the Game" have been used separately. Characters come out of the painting, voice-over, and moving long shots to express the space outside the painting. The depth of field lens is used by Renoir to show the multi-layered and meaningful real space. The movement of the characters between the front and back scenes enhances the feeling of the deep space, which is more realistic than the still painting.

　　Pierre-Auguste Renoir is Jean Renoir's closest and most respected person, and his influence on Renoir's own artistic view and his film creation is immeasurable.

　　August's view of "the whole of the world" and "animism"

Thought deeply influences Renoir's world outlook and artistic outlook, and directly promotes the generation of his film theme and film language. August "sees the world as a whole made up of connected parts. The balance of the world depends on each part." "This belief in the world as a unity manifests in him in respect and love Everything that has life.” According to Renoir, Auguste avoided breaking dandelions or trampling ants while walking. This kind of thought and emotion of loving life is also reflected in his paintings, whether it is landscape paintings, genre paintings or figure paintings, they all show a tribute to life and are full of happiness and joy. Paintings such as "Spring", "Snow Scene", "Farmhouse" and "Landscape of Fontainebleau" praised the beautiful natural and idyllic scenery; paintings such as "Lunch on the Yacht", "Picnic by the River", "The Lover" and "In the Garden" praised the sincere Friendship and sweet love; paintings such as "The Park of Luxembourg", "Children of Negage" and "Mother and Son" depict lovely children and warm family life. Under his father's words and deeds, Renoir saw the world as a harmonious whole since he was a child. He had a love for nature and life, and an expectation for friendship and peace. This concept was naturally reflected in his future films. Most of Renoir's films are full of nostalgia for nature. In his eyes, nature is a simple and benevolent existence, and animals and plants are friends worthy of closeness and trust for human beings.

　　Just like his father "observing nature with love", he also lovingly recorded the sunshine, rain and dew, rivers and mountains, grass and warbler flying in nature through the lens of the camera, as well as the close relationship between man and nature, which is interdependent and integrated with each other. Films such as "The Big River" and "Lunch on the Grass" are typical representatives. Not only that, Renoir also expressed his yearning for human friendship and peace on earth through his films. He hopes that people can transcend the boundaries of countries, races and classes, communicate sincerely, understand each other, tolerate each other, eliminate misunderstandings and estrangements, resolve conflicts and hatred, and achieve an ideal relationship of mutual love. Disillusionment focuses on the question of whether this ideal can be realized. "Love for human beings and things in this world" also makes Renoir have a great respect and understanding of the characters and their actions in the film while having a keen insight and a true reflection of reality and humanity, thus creating his The film is full of the humanitarian spirit of tolerance and compassion. In addition, due to the influence of the times, many of Renoir's films contain some kind of pessimistic sense of destiny. However, his father's optimistic and positive attitude towards life and life infects Renoir invisibly. Therefore, although his films have many depictions of life tragedies such as depravity and death, they never give up the search for hope and happiness: although they appear melancholy and sentimental, they do not have an air of despair and coldness. Movies such as "The Bitch", "The Bottom" and "The Rules of the Game" are all like this. Finally, the iconic lens language of Renoir's films, the moving long shot and the depth-of-field shot, also derives from Auguste's conception of the world as a whole. The flexible and freely moving long lens and the implicit depth-of-field lens maximize the unity and integrity of time and space, clearly showing the relationship between people and the environment and between people, just like Auguste's painting: "His paintings are the embodiment of balance. The background and the foreground are equally important. They are not the juxtaposition of flowers, faces and mountains, but are integrated." "In this dense whole, every movement, every Every thought has its repercussions." The lens language of most of Renoir's films runs through this thought of "the whole of the world".