Pierre Auguste Renoir
"I was a very diligent student; I ground away in the academic way...but I never obtained the slightest honorable mention and my professors were unanimous in finding my painting wretched."
- Pierre Auguste Renoir
Renoir started out as an apprentice to a porcelain painter and studied drawing in his free time. After years struggling as a painter, Renoir helped launch Impressionism and eventually became one of the most highly regarded artists of his time.