Montblanc continues its artistic journey through time with a new tribute to one of Impressionism’s greatest pioneers. The Montblanc Masters of Art Homage to Pierre-Auguste Renoir collection celebrates the legacy of the French master with exceptional writing instruments inspired by his techniques, colour palette, and devotion to beauty in everyday life. Each edition is a carefully crafted fusion of fine materials, artistic symbolism, and timeless design—an invitation to experience Renoir’s world through the art of writing.
The story of human civilisation could not be imagined without artists and their view of the world portrayed through their masterpieces. Sharing their quest for perfection in art and craft, Montblanc pays tribute to some of the world’s most influential artists with its Montblanc Masters of Art collector line, spotlighting the visionaries who have shaped the course of creative expression across centuries.
Honouring Renoir
Following the Masters of Art Homage to Vincent Van Gogh and Gustav Klimt collections, Montblanc now turns its focus to Pierre-Auguste Renoir whose revolutionary brushwork and dedication to capturing the ephemeral beauty of light and movement helped shape the artistic landscape of the 19th century. Montblanc Masters of Art Homage to Pierre-Auguste Renoir revisits the pioneering style and exceptional creativity of the French artist, one of the foremost figures of Impressionism. In keeping with Montblanc’s dedication to aesthetic excellence, each edition in the collection is designed in accordance with the golden ratio, ensuring a harmony of form and proportion.
Defining impressionism
Pierre-Auguste Renoir (February 25, 1841 – December 3, 1919) was one of the most prominent forerunners of modernism, whose sun-drenched paintings helped set the tone for an entire movement: Impressionism. His technique, in which artistic freedom played a greater role than rigid composition, broke with centuries-old tradition. The lightness with which he committed life to the canvas has an almost weightless elegance seldom achieved before. The way in which Renoir applied paint to the canvas – using the impasto technique with short strokes of the brush – and above all how he depicted light and sunshine, was radically new. While many Impressionists focused on landscapes and cityscapes, Renoir was particularly drawn to people, capturing warmth, beauty, and intimacy in his portraits and social scenes.
Edition 4810
An ode to Renoir’s talents as a painter and drawing artist, the Masters of Art Homage to Pierre-Auguste Renoir Limited Edition 4810 features design details reflecting his passion for colour, light, and nature. The overall shape of the writing instrument evokes the traditional pencils used by the artists of that time. Crafted from olive wood, the cap and barrel reference the artist’s cherished olive groves at his estate, Les Collettes, in the south of France. Dabs of hand-applied paint in shades of green, blue, yellow, light rose, and grey mirror the vibrant tones that defined Renoir’s masterpieces. The cap is topped with Montblanc’s emblem set in an ultramarine blue precious resin, a nod to Renoir’s declaration: “One morning, one of us, lacking black, used blue: Impressionism was born.” The gold-coated clip shaped like two paintbrushes in different sizes symbolises Renoir’s evolution from meticulous detailing to expressive, more flat, free-flowing strokes. Engraved on the cap ring is the date 1874, the year of the first Impressionist exhibition, marking the birth of a movement that changed the art world. The nib, made of solid Au 750 yellow gold, is intricately decorated with a folding fan, a motif often seen in Renoir’s portraits of women. A further demonstration of craftsmanship, the cone features an Ag 925 silverpoint tip, a tribute to Renoir’s exceptional drawing skills, that can be used for real silverpoint sketches and features on each edition in the collection.
Edition 888
Inspired by Renoir’s formative years as a porcelain painter in a porcelain manufacture, the Masters of Art Homage to Pierre-Auguste Renoir Limited Edition 888 is adorned with an elegant translucent white lacquer, reminiscent of the fine porcelain he once decorated. A lacquer motif on the cap, surrounded by a solid Au 750 yellow gold frame, shows a reproduction of a flower motif as painted by Renoir, while the cap and barrel feature intricate Louis XVI-style engravings, evoking the aesthetic of 19th-century French silversmiths. The platinum-coated cap top ring bears the engraving 1854, the year in which Renoir began his apprenticeship as a porcelain painter. For this edition, the silverpoint tip in Ag 925 silver contrasts with the cone made of solid Au 750 gold and platinum-coated metal, while the solid Au 750 yellow gold nib features the fan design and is partly rhodium-coated. The Montblanc emblem that crowns the writing instrument is made of mother-of-pearl encircled by various shades of blue.
Edition 161
The Masters of Art Homage to Pierre-Auguste Renoir Limited Edition 161 pays homage to the artist’s so-called “Période Nacrée” or “pearly period”, when Renoir’s colour palette became softer and lighter, consisting of white and rose tones. The mother-of-pearl inlays on the barrel reflect the iridescent light that characterises paintings such as “Woman with a Hat”, while the Ag 925 sterling silver cap bears a finely sculpted relief of this work.
The cap top ring is engraved with the year 1888 when the artist’s “pearly period” began. The nib is decorated with the Greek letter phi (Φ) representing the golden ratio, and delicate bouquets of flowers, so often a feature in Renoir’s artworks. The Greek letter also represents the 161 limitation number of the edition. The Montblanc emblem crafted of mother-of-pearl is set in shimmering bluish-violet stripe chalcedony.
Edition 92
The Masters of Art Homage to Pierre-Auguste Renoir Limited Edition 92 takes inspiration from one of Renoir’s most renowned paintings of his Impressionism-period: “Luncheon of the Boating Party” (1880–1881). The solid Au 750 gold cap is engraved with a braid pattern reminiscent of the typical straw hats worn by the subjects in his painting. The design of the awning flapping in the breeze, under which the lunch takes place, is reflected in the hand-painted lacquer inlays of the solid gold barrel. The cone is crafted from solid Au 750 gold, set with a solid Au 999 gold tip to create sketches of one’s own. The Montblanc emblem is made of mother-of-pearl and set in light brown Kalahari Jasper to convey the warm atmosphere of the light-filled scene. The nib depicts a motif inspired by Renoir’s 1899 self-portrait. The limitation of 92 pieces is a tribute to the year 1892, when his art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel sold his painting “Two Young Girls at the Piano“ to the Musée du Luxembourg, marking the first time the Impressionists were exhibited in a national museum.
Edition 8
The Masters of Art Homage to Pierre-Auguste Renoir Limited Edition 8 is an homage to Renoir’s masterpiece “The Great Bathers” and his “Ingresque period” between 1883 and 1887, during which his style changed to become more conventional. Renoir became convinced that Impressionism was a passing phase and painted cooler and more precise works that emphasised structure. The cap top ring bears the engraving 1883, marking the beginning of Renoir’s reorientation towards this period. The hand-painted lacquer on the Au 750 gold cap and barrel echoes the colours chosen in “The Great Bathers”, while the view of the back of the girl bathing in the foreground is the central figure on the barrel as an artfully hand-engraved solid Au 750 gold inlay using the Bulino technique: the entire engraving is made up of many thousands of small engraved dots and lines. This finely worked depiction is enhanced by an intricate hand-engraved solid Au 750 gold overlay in the look of a vintage picture frame. As if to underline the artistic ambition and atmosphere of Renoir’s “The Great Bathers”, the fittings of the richly ornamented cap are adorned with rings of brilliant-cut diamonds. Crowning the cap is a sparkling Montblanc diamond whose outline is echoed in the engraved guilloche pattern of its solid Au 750 gold setting. A ring of brilliant-cut diamonds adorns the solid Au 750 gold cone, while a brilliant-cut diamond enhances the solid Au 750 yellow gold nib that features an embossing of Renoir’s self-portrait from 1899.
Artistic experience
The writing experience is completed with a notebook, the cover of which features a recreation of Renoir’s 1916 painting “Landscape” (“Paysage”), and a deep purple ink presented in a signature Montblanc glass ink bottle. The artist’s use of the ultramarine colour also inspires a pair of steel cufflinks decorated with sodalite and mother-of-pearl.
Timeless tribute
From meticulously selected materials to the masterful craftsmanship that brings Renoir’s legacy to life, the Montblanc Masters of Art Homage to Pierre-Auguste Renoir collection is a celebration of timeless art. Each writing instrument is an invitation to immerse oneself in the world of an artistic pioneer, an enduring testament to the spirit of Impressionism.
