b. Limoges, 25 Feb 1841; d. Cagnes-sur-Mer, 3 Dec 1919. French painter, printmaker and sculptor. He was one of the founders and leading exponents of IMPRESSIONISM from the late 186s, producing some of the movements most famous images of carefree leisure. He broke with his Impressionist colleagues to exhibit at the Salon from 1878, and from c. 1884 he adopted a more linear style indebted to the Old Masters. His critical reputation has suffered from the many minor works he produced during his later years.(The Grove Dictionary of Art)