I.

Introduction

Renoir, Jean (1894-1979), French film director, widely considered to be one of the greatest in the history of cinema. Renoir was the recipient of several major honours: Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour); Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; and Academy Award (Oscar) for Lifetime Achievement. He usually collaborated on or wrote his screenplays, and was also a film producer, actor, stage director, playwright, and novelist, as well as the author of a world-famous biography of his father, the Impressionist painter Pierre Auguste Renoir.