As Monet steered away from figurative painting creating more abstract works in his later years, Renoir took the opposite direction. As one of the younger members of the Impressionist circle he absorbed the techniques of the new movement, but was freer to summon up inspiration from the past masters such as Titian and Rubens whose influence is more apparent in his paintings of women. Renoir's last years were spent painting and repainting the female form with loving remembrance and despite being badly crippled with arthritis, barely able to hold his brushes, his work is marked by an overwhelming feeling of vitality. Renoir's whole career is spanned by this book, including early masterpieces such as La Loge and his later series of Bathers.