If he hadn't dropped out of school because of his family's financial difficulties, Pierre-Auguste Renoir might have been a singer — his gift for singing was well-recognized at school — and the world would have lost a great painter.

The family's dire economic situation forced Renoir to become a painter working at a porcelain workshop. From that point, he later became one of the founding fathers of Impressionism, leaving a rich oeuvre of works favored in museums and exhibitions for decades, especially his lush landscapes and portraits.