Renoir still impressing 140 years after visit

Those leaving yesterday morning’s 11am hour-long tour of the exhibition at the Guernsey Museum at Candie were certainly impressed.

Among them were islanders Marguerite and Tony Talmage.

‘It’s a stunning exhibition and has brought home how much Renoir was influenced by his stay here, and how it shows in his later work,’ said Mr Talmage.

‘It shows what an influence Guernsey can have on a person without them knowing it.’

Mrs Talmage said that an hour was just the right amount of time to look around the display.

‘It’s really well managed from start to finish,’ she said.

‘All in all it’s a delightful experience.’

Holidaymakers Chris and Karin Mitchell, who described themselves as regular visitors to Guernsey, had taken time to make sure they got tickets.

‘It was really good – I’d say small but perfectly formed,’ said Mrs Mitchell.

‘It was wonderful to have an opportunity to see the paintings close up.

‘It is very well presented. It’s astonishing the amount of paintings and influence he had when the fact was he was only here five weeks.’

Mr Mitchell was also intrigued to see the work of photographer Paul Chambers, which runs alongside the main exhibition.

‘As a photographer myself, I was fascinated to see his photos, and the trouble he’d gone through to take them with 19th century equipment,’ he said.

The exhibition does appear to be pulling in visitors from outside the island, as hoped, with one non-English speaking French couple describing the show as ‘tres bon’ and others, such as Vic Perron, making a day trip especially from Jersey.

‘I have to admit Renoir wasn’t my favourite impressionist painter, but I’m glad I took the trouble to come today,’ he said.

‘It is a rare opportunity to see his paintings like this.

‘The curation is very well handled, and an hour is just enough to see everything at your leisure. I have to say I’m very impressed.’