The crisis of Impressionism
On his visit to Italy (1881), Renoir became deeply impressed by Raphael's work. Raphael did not work outside and in his art, the sunlight was reflected in a superb way.

Renoir said: "In 1883 I ran out of Impressionism and at the end, I came to the conclusion that I did not know how to paint or draw."

The Impressionists way of representing the art of painting seemed insufficient for him. After that he paid more attention to his drawing, with colder and smoother colours. 1884-1887 is what is considered the "dry period" of Renoir's production. The Irish reporter George Moore wrote that Renoir destroyed completely the wonder of 20 years of art.

The crisis affected Monet, Pissarro and Degas as well. They dissolved the group of Impressionists. Renoir did not want to judge or think while he was painting - this made him superficial during this period. He still used light and shadow, and colour, but the motif and content was left out. In his dry period, he did not paint any scene of the everyday life of Paris. Renoir and his colleagues concentrated on the subjective impressionism.

In 1885-1886, Renoir had an exhibition in Brussels with some modern artists. Durand-Ruel sent to New York 32 paintings of Renoir where the American public accepted him very well. Today, there are many public collections in America, in cities like Washington, New York, Chicago and others.

Renoir made three paintings of couples dancing the Waltz. Using Aline Charigot (his wife) as a model. He painted her often with their oldest child Pierre. The drawing was more important in this period than anything else.

In the second half of the 1880s, Renoir painted nude figures outside like Bathers, his favourite motif in this period. His pictures now have a uniform luminosity and he does not play with lights and shadows any more.

The fundamental painting of this period is Great Bathers (1887). In the dry period, Renoir used a linear model for his composition, using sensual and rich colours.
He started his late style after 1888.