Journeys into the unknown Renoir

Impressionist master Pierre-Auguste Renoir is renowned for his portraits of beautiful Parisian women at leisure.

But a National Gallery exhibition launched today showcases Renoir's lesser-seen landscapes.

Seventy of them, taken from his early career, will be on display in what will be the first major Renoir show in London for 22 years.

It begins with pictures of life in France at the time he was getting to know fellow future Impressionist giants such as Monet and Cézanne. It then charts his artistic progress towards a more experimental, abstract approach aided by extensive travelling. Scenes of the Normandy coast, Venice, Naples and Guernsey feature in the show.

The paintings are being taken from 45 public and private collections. Chief among these is Renoir's 1881 North African masterpiece The Test Gardens,

Algiers, which is being loaned by Hollywood studio MGM.

Exhibition curator Chris Riopelle said: "One of the problems with Renoir is it's too easily forgotten how important he was in the development of modern-painting. He was hugely innovative and influential and we've lost track of that.

"Our exhibition deals with his most experimental type of painting; over the course of the exhibition he develops a very distinctive use of colour. The public will get to see Renoir the innovator. There is pleasure in seeing this man learn his craft and pushing himself artistically in such an audacious way."

The National is hoping to rival the autumn's record-breaking Vel·zquez exhibition. Its 300,000 visitors included Scarlett Johansson, Sir Harold Pinter and Stella McCartney.

Renoir Landscapes 1865-1883 runs until 20 May.