In 1864,
Renoir had his first success with a painting of the Esmeralda
Dancing with her Goat around a Fire Illuminating the Entire Crowd
of Vagabonds. He had entered the painting in the Salon, a French
exhibition of painting. For some reason, he destroyed the painting
after the exhibition, but this led the way to his future greatness.
Renoir became a member in the circle of young painters including
Claude Monet (1840-1924), Alfred Sisley (1839-1899), and Frédéric
Bazille (1841-1870) each of who made their mark on the art world
as great masters of impressionism. And in many ways, Renoir can
be considered the most popular of them all.
