You should always start at the beginning.
In Jean Renoir's case, we'll go even further back. His father was the Impressionist painter Pierre Auguste Renoir, born in 1841 in Limoges (a city known for its enamels and porcelain). Though he was a leader of the Impressionists and a close friend of Monet, etc., he had a lot admiration for Renaissance and Baroque artists as well. For instance, one of his favorite painters was Rococo artist François Boucher, whose work was filled with the sort of relaxed, charming female nudes that would come to define a lot of Renoir's output. Renoir's respect for the artists of the past - and a proclivity for humans subjects - set him apart from the Monets and the Cezannes of the 1880s.
It seems, looking over various works he made, that the charm of humanity and a love of life - divorced from a lot of overt philosophy - were the themes that truly inspired him to paint. His personal life was profoundly stable, as well. After painting Aline Charigot in Luncheon of the Boating Party, with whom he already had a son, they were married in 1890. Jean was born in 1894.
The image above is from On the Terrace, 1881.
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