Masters of Art Homage to Pierre-Auguste Renoir Limited Edition 888 Fountain Pen

Great artists throughout history have expressed the human experience in a universal language of form and beauty. The Montblanc Masters of Art Collection honors their eternal contribution to the quest for perfection in art – a quest Montblanc both celebrates and participates in. Pierre-Auguste Renoir is one of the most prominent forerunners of modernism, whose sun-drenched paintings helped set the tone for an entire movement: Impressionism. In tribute to this pioneer of French art and his beginnings as a porcelain painter, Montblanc has created the Masters of Art Homage to Pierre-Auguste Renoir Limited Edition 888. The virtuosity with which Renoir applied paint had its origins in his apprenticeship as a porcelain painter, begun at the age of 13 in the Lévy brothers’ Paris factory. He mastered the art of painting delicate floral designs that marry subtle shades of blue with pure white porcelain, each brushstroke echoing the beauty of nature. One of the few remaining examples of Renoir’s porcelain painting inspired the design of the Limited Edition 888. Cap and barrel are coated in a special lacquer to evoke the appearance of fine white porcelain. The translucent lacquer reveals a delicate engraved Louis XVI pattern underneath, as found on pieces by silversmiths of that period. The eye is drawn in particular to the gold-framed lacquer motif on the cap, showing a reproduction of a flower motif as painted by Renoir. The cap top is adorned with a mother-of-pearl Montblanc emblem encircled by various shades of blue, which is also a reminder of Renoir’s porcelain painting. The platinum-coated cap top ring bears the engraving 1854, the year in which Renoir began his apprenticeship as a porcelain painter. An eye-catching feature is the gold-coated clip formed like two brushes of the type used by Renoir to produce both the fine details as well as the more expansive surfaces that made up his masterpieces. The wide, solid Au 750 gold lower cap top ring rounds off the design of the cap. The delicate folding fan with two tassels that adorns the handcrafted, partly-rhodium-coated solid Au 750 gold nib is a tribute to the significance of a fan, an accessory which is featured in a lot of his works, especially in many of his perceptive portraits of women. As a tribute to Renoir’s drawing skills, a silverpoint tip made of soft Ag 925 sterling silver is integrated into the solid Au 750 gold, partly platinum-coated cone, providing the means to create silverpoint sketches of one's own.