Pierre Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) was a French impressionist painter who helped launch the art movement called "Impressionism". In the 1890's Renoir began a battle with rheumatoid arthritis, which eventually disfigured his hands and damaged his joints. He was confined to a wheelchair for much of the later years of his life. However, he continued to paint.
One day while watching Renoir paint, Henri Matisse (1869–1954), a friend and also an artist, asked him, "Auguste, why do you continue to paint when you are in such pain?"
Renoir replied, "The pain passes, but the beauty remains."
Whatever one thinks of Renoir the man or his paintings, one must certainly admire his attitude. He had learned a lesson many seem to not learn. "The pain passes, but the beauty remains."
Renoir is also reported as saying, "For me, a painting must be a pleasant thing, joyous and pretty — yes, pretty. There are too many unpleasant things in life for us to fabricate still more."
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