Catherine Ostler: The Renoir Girls (1881)

This week's episode takes us to Paris in La Belle Époque. There, among all the splendour and sophistication, we watch the great Impressionist, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, painting one of his great portraits.

But there is more to this history than first meets the eye. As our guest Catherine Ostler explains, the year 1881 was a critical one in Jewish history. By that point in time Jewish communities were thriving in Paris, where they sought to consolidate their position in society. But a dramatic event in Russia was poised to change everything.

The scenes, characters and storylines in this episode of Travels Through Time all feature in Catherine Ostler's book, The Renoir Girls: A Hidden History of Art, War and Betrayal. 

Scene One: 19 January 1881. The wedding of Leopold de Rothschild and Marie Perugia in London.

Scene Two: January–March 1881. Renoir paints Alice and Elisabeth at the Cahen d'Anvers family house in Paris.

Scene Three: 13 March 1881. Tsar Alexander II is assassinated in St Petersburg.

Memento: Renoir's Pink and Blue painting.

Presenter: Peter Moore 

Guest: Catherine Ostler

Producers: Maria Nolan

Theme music: Firelight by Minka